I 


J 

< 


c 

^ 


i 


ART  AND  INDUSTRY 

AS  REPRESENTED  IN  THE 

EXHIBITION  AT  THE  CRYSTAL  PALACE 

NEW  YORK —  1  853-4 

SHOWING  THE  PROGRESS  AND  STATE  OF  THE 

VARIOUS  USEFUL  AND   ESTHETIC  PURSUITS. 

FROM    THE    NEW    YORK  TRIBUNE. 
REVISED  AND  EDITED 

BY  HOEACE  GREELEY. 


REDFIELD, 

110  <fe  112  NASSAU- STREET,  NEW  YORK. 
1853. 


Entered,  according  to  act  of  Congress, 
in  the  year  one  Thousand  Eight  Hundred  and  Fifty-three, 
By  J.  S.  REDFIELD, 
in  the  Clerk's  Office  of  the  District  Court  of  the  United 
States,  for  the  Southern  District  of  New  York. 

m 


A.  C  UN  N  INGHAM, 

KTEUKOTYI'ER, 

No.  183  Willmm-street,  New-York. 


1 


I 


PREFACE. 


It  has  been  well  observed  by  Edward  Everett — who,  almost 
alone  among  our  public  men,  has  achieved  eminence  alike  amid  the 
amenities  and  generous  rivalries  of  Literature  and  in  the  sterner  col- 
lisions of  Statesmanship — who  in  the  Republic  of  Letters  has  long  been 
a  critic  and  a  censor  without  wounding  a  just  susceptibility  or  pro- 
voking an  undesirable  enmity,  and  in  Politics  has  been  for  thirty 
years  a  decided  partisan,  without  limiting  or  qualifying  the  esteem  and 
admiration  with  which  he  is  regarded  by  his  countrymen  generally — 
that  "  It  is  remarkable  that  many  of  the  best  books  have  been  written 
by  persons  who,  at  the  time  of  writing  them,  had  no  intention  of 
becoming  authors.  Indeed,  with  slight  inclination  to  systemize  and 
exaggerate,  one  might  be  tempted  to  maintain  the  position — however 
paradoxical  it  may  at  the  first  blush  appear — that  no  good  book  can 
ever  be  written  in  any  other  way ;  that  the  only  literature  of  any 
value  is  that  which  grows  indirectly  out  of  the  real  action  of  society, 
intended  directly  to  effect  some  other  purpose  ;  and  that  when  a  man 
sits  doggedly  in  his  study,  and  says  to  himself,  ' 1  mean  to  write  a 
good  book,'  it  is  certain,  from  the  necessity  of  the  case,  that  the  result 
will  be  a  bad  one." 

Whether  the  unpretending  work  herewith  submitted  shall  or  shall 
not  serve  to  illustrate  the  justice  of  Mr.  Everett's  observation,  it  is 
very  certain  that  nearly  all  of  its  contents  were  written  in  exact 
accordance  with  the  spirit  of  his  suggestion  ;  namely,  by  men  intent  on 
setting  forth  something  which  seemed  to  them  deserving  of  public 
attention,  but  without  a  thought  of  book-making.  Their  incitement 
was  as  follows  : 

In  anticipation  of  the  opening  of  our  Crystal  Palace,  the  Editors  of 
The  New  York  Tribune  determined  that  there  should,  from  time  to 
time,  be  given  in  the  columns  of  their  journal,  accounts  of  the  various 

H 


PREFACE. 


contributions  to  this  Exhibition  of  the  World's  Industry,  as  classed  in 
their  several  Departments,  not  according  to  Geography  or  Nationality, 
but  according  to  essential  likeness  or  assimilation.  Their  idea  was, 
that  accounts  should  successively  be  given  of  whatever  the  Palace 
might  contain  in  any  important  Department  of  Industry,  with  a  retro- 
spective glance  at  the  origin  and  growth  of  the  art  or  arts  involved  in 
its  production ;  so  that,  when  these  sketches  should  be  completed, 
their  readers  would  have  obtained  an  integral  conception — crude  and 
imperfect,  perhaps,  but  vivid,  practical  and  suggestive — of  the  means 
whereby  mankind  are  fed,  clad  and  housed,  and  of  the  various  staples, 
wares  and  fabrics  which  give  employment  to  Industry  and  Commerce, 
insuring  material  comfort  to  civilized  communities  and  diffusing  luxury 
and  taste  among  their  members.  Hence  grew  the  essays  which, 
revised  and  somewhat  modified,  form  the  body  of  this  volume. 

That  they  should  be  unequal,  alike  in  the  interest  of  their  respective 
topics  and  in  the  merit  of  their  execution,  was  unavoidable.  They 
are  the  work  of  at  least  a  dozen  different  hands,  about  half  of  them 
employed  on  the  Editorial  staff  of  The  Tribune  ;  the  residue  specially 
employed  to  elucidate  such  departments  of  Industry  as  they  were 
severally  presumed  well  qualified  to  describe.  No  one  of  them  wrote 
with  any  expectation  that  his  article  would  have  an  existence  less 
ephemeral  than  that  of  the  daily  broadsheet  wherein  it  first  met  the 
public  eye.  The  series  had  nearly  been  completed,  when,  at  the 
urgent  suggestion  of  readers  who  deemed  them  worthy  of  a  more 
enduringly  accessible  form,  the  publisher  was  induced  to  make  pro- 
posals for  their  collection  and  revision,  whereof  the  result  is  herewith 
submitted.  If  this  work  of  many  hands  shall  induce,  as  we  trust  it 
may,  some  thousands  of  our  younger  mechanics,  artisans  and  laborers, 
to  regard  the  mighty  Exhibition,  not  as  a  vast  curiosity-shop  or  raree- 
show,  nor  yet  as  a  mere  Arch  of  Triumph,  erected  in  honor  of  Labor, 
but  as  the  grandest  and  most  instructive  University  ever  opened  to 
themselves  and  their  children  on  this  continent,  or  ever  but  once  in 
the  world,  then  will  its  end  have  been  accomplished,  and  our  labor 
abundantly  rewarded. 

New  York,  Nov.  1st,  1853. 


CONTENTS. 


PAGE 

I       The  Palace   13 

IL      The  Opening   17 

III.  The  Banquet   31 

IV.  Strictures  on  the  Banquet   41 

V.  Sculpture  „   54 

VI      Reaping,  Mowing,  and  Threshing  Machines   66 

VIL     Plows   80 

VIII.     Other  Agricultural  Implements   81 

IX.  Preserved  Food   104 

X.  Products  of  the  Soil   108 

XI.  Porcelain.   112 

XII.  Glass   125 

XIII.  Fire- Arms — Rifles  and  Revolvers   131 

XIV.  Leather.  ,   141 

XV.  Saddles,  Harness,  and  Trunks   156 

XVI.  Artificial  Flowers   162 

XVII.  Daguerreotypes   171 

XVIIL   Hats   178 

XIX.  Flax,  and  its  Manufactures   193 

XX.  Wool,  and  Woollen  Manufactures   200 

XXI.  «       «         «  «  (Continued)   218 

XXII.  «       «         «  «  «   231 

XXIII.  Boots  and  Shoes   240 

•  '3 


vi  CONTENTS. 

FAGS 

XXIV.  Paper,  and  its  Manufactures  248 

XXV.  Bookbinding  256 

XXVL   Cannon  264 

XXVII.  Confectionery   271 

XXVIIL  Soaps  and  Perfumery.  279 

XXIX.  Skins  and  Peltries  288 

XXX.  Machinery  and  Inventions  295 

XXXI.  Miscellaneous  Farmers'  Tools   310 

XXXII.  Raw  and  Manufactured  Silks  321 

XXXIII.  Silk  Manufactures  340 

XXXIV.  Cotton   346 

XXXV.  Improvements  in  the  Machinery  for  Silk-Weaving  364 

XXXVI.  Silk  Manufactures — Figure-Weaving  by  American  Power- 

Looms— Brocatelles  and  Brocades  875 


INTRODUCTION. 


A  brief  historical  sketch  of  the  origin  and  construction  of  the 
Crystal  Palace  may  properly  precede  the  notices  of  its  contents 
embodied  in  this  volume. 

The  first  idea  of  an  Exhibition  of  the  Products  of  the  Art  and  In- 
dustry of  All  Nations,  was  carried  into  effect  in  London  in  1850-1. 
In  1849,  however,  the  French  Minister  of  the  Interior  sought  to 
give  a  cosmopolitan  character  to  the  great  quinquennial  Exhibi- 
tion held  that  year  in  Paris  ;  but  he  was  overruled  by  the  native 
exhibitors ;  so  the  suggestion  thus  made  was  left  to  be  first 
realized  in  England. 

The  Exhibition  in  London,  from  its  inception  to  its  completion, 
was  sanctioned  and  upheld  by  the  Court  and  Parliament.  The 
Queen  took  the  liveliest  interest  in  it ;  Prince  Albert  was  its 
technical  head  and  originator;  its  interests  were  discussed  in 
Parliament  ;  and,  in  a  word,  it  was  a  favorite  Government  enter- 
prise. Herein  it  differed  radically  from  its  copy  in  this  country, 
erected  at  New  York  during  the  years  1852-3 — the  American 
Crystal  Palace  being  exclusively  a  result  of  private  enterprise. 
Great  applause  was  bestowed  on  the  Secretary  of  State,  Mr. 
"Webster,  because  he  agreed  to  make  it  a  Bonded  Warehouse ;  but 
we  apprehend  that  Mr.  Webster  did  not  need  encomium  for  so 
common-place  and  simple  a  proceeding.  Equally  easy  of  course 
was  the  action  of  the  New  York  Municipality,  in  granting  the  site  : 
if  this  had  been  refused,  the  omission  would  have  been  unworthy 
and  unprofitable  Whatever  credit  accrues  to  the  idea  and  out- 
working of  the  Crystal  Palace  in  this  City,  is  purely  and  absolutely 
private  and  not  political.    Suum  cuique. 


viii 


THE  GREAT  EXHIBITION. 


On  the  3d  January,  1853,  the  Corporation  of  New- York 
granted  a  free  lease  for  five  years  of  Reservoir  Square,  upon  two 
conditions  :  first,  that  the  building  should  be  composed  of  Iron 
and  Glass ;  and,  secondly,  that  no  single  entrance-charge  should 
exceed  fifty  cents.  On  the  11th  of  March,  the  Legislature 
enacted  a  charter  of  Incorporation  for  the  Association  for  the 
Exhibition  of  the  Industry  of  all  Nations.  The  main  pro- 
visions of  the  act  ran  thus  :  capital,  two  hundred  thousand  dol- 
lars, with  permission  to  increase  it  to  three  hundred  thousand  : 
authorization  to  the  Directors  to  occupy  any  real  estate  that  might 
be  granted  to  them  :  power  to  award  prizes,  and  to  all  necessary 
things  for  the  completion  of  the  project.  The  charter  was  not 
easily  obtained,  objections  being  made  that  it  was  hostile  to 
domestic  industry,  and  state-constitutional  provisions  being  like- 
wise interposed. 

On  the  17th  of  March,  the  Board  of  Directors  met,  elected 
Theodore  Sedgwick,  President,  and  William  Whetten,  Secre- 
tary, and  then  issued  the  following  general  statement : 

Association  for  the  Exhibition  of  the  Industry  of  all  Nations. — 
A  Charter  having  been  granted  by  the  Legislature  of  this  State,  for  the 
purposes  of  an  Industrial  Exhibition  ;  and  the  Corporation  of  the  City  having, 
with  great  liberality,  granted  the  use  of  Reservoir  Square  for  five  years, 
the  parties  associated  in  the  enterprise  are  now  prepared  to  invite  the 
co-operation  of  their  fellow-citizens. 

In  doing  this,  they  think  it  proper  to  state,  at  some  length,  the  motives 
which  guide  them,  and  the  objects  which  they  hope  to  attain. 

It  is  scarcely  necessary  to  say,  that  the  idea  was  suggested  by  the  brilliant 
success  that  attended  the  London  Exhibition  of  last  year. 

That  Exhibition,  prompted  by  enlarged  and  liberal  views,  and  carried  out 
with  energy  and  skill,  was  crowned  with  the  most  triumphant  results ;  and 
a  just  pride  authorizes  us  to  assert,  that,  in  all  that  vast  array  of  the  triumphs 
of  genius  and  industry,  no  nation  gave  more  striking  proofs  of  intellectual 
capacity  and  vigor,  applied  to  the  useful  arts,  than  were  manifested  by  our 
own  people. 

It  was,  therefore,  a  natural  suggestion  of  patriotic  and  national  feelings, 
that  we  should  not  only  wish  to  see  a  like  Exhibition  in  our  own  country, 
but  that  we  should  desire  to  re-produce  in  it  the  beneficial  effects  that  had 
resulted  from  its  great  prototype. 

It  is  generally  acknowledged,  that  the  London  Exhibition  marks  an  era 
in  the  progress  of  the  world— an  era,  of  which  the  distinctive  characteristics 
are  the  advance  of  those  arts  which  increase  the  comforts  and  heighten  the 
delights  of  life,  the  spread  of  amicable  relations  among  rival  countries,  and, 
above  all,  the  elevation  of  labor  to  its  proper  dignity. 

The  difficulties  apparent  at  the  outset  of  the  enterprise  have  been  over- 
come ;  the  liberality  of  the  English  Government  has  been  emulated  by  the 


INTRODUCTION. 


is 


respective  authorities  of  our  country ;  and  a  correct  appreciation  of  the  objects 
of  the  Association  seems  to  be  entertained  by  those  to  whom  they  have  been 
communicated ;  and  we  are  satisfied,  that  the  more  generally  these  objects 
are  made  known,  the  more  favorable  will  be  their  acceptation  by  our  fellow- 
citizens,  whose  sagacity  can  foresee,  as  their  co-operative  energy  can  achieve, 
the  results  at  which  we  aim. 

In  an  edifice  which,  of  itself,  will  be  a  noble  monument  of  skill,  we  hope 
to  bring  together  the  choicest  productions  of  the  Old  World's  industry ;  thus 
not  only  opening  a  fair  field  for  the  competition  of  the  productive  talent  of 
America,  but  enlarging  its  scope  and  multiplying  its  aims ;  and,  at  the  same 
time,  presenting  to  all  classes  of  the  community  such  rare  and  novel  objects 
of  attention,  as  cannot  fail  to  widen  the  sphere  of  general  knowledge. 

It  is  well  known,  that  in  London  a  great  portion  of  the  building  was  occu- 
pied by  objects  of  but  little  interest,  and  that  American  Industry  entered 
into  the  competition  to  a  very  small  extent.  It  is  believed  that  by  a  more 
careful  selection  of  articles,  and  by  a  larger  introduction  of  our  own  products, 
the  interest  of  the  Exhibition,  in  these  two  essential  particulars,  can  be 
greatly  increased. 

In  a  statement  of  this  kind  it  is  impossible  to  introduce  full  details ;  but 
we  may  say,  in  general  terms,  that  we  have  such  assurances,  not  only  from 
England,  but  from  the  principal  countries  of  the  Continent,  as  justify  us  in 
the  expectation  of  bringing  under  the  eyes  of  our  fellow-citizens  not  only 
such  specimens  of  the  industrial  arts  as  shall  generally  interest  the  practical 
American  mind,  but  such  rare  products  of  industry  and  skill  as  have  never 
been  seen  among  us.  Some  of  these  were  among  the  choicest  articles  of  the 
London  Exhibition,  and  others  are  now  being  prepared  abroad  expressly  for 
exhibition  here.  And,  more  than  this,  we  hope  to  bring  within  the  reach 
of  all,  such  wonders  of  the  Fine  Arts  as  have  hitherto  been  approached  only 
by  those  of  our  countrymen  who  have  been  able  to  seek  them  abroad. 

The  Corporation  is  authorized  by  its  charter  to  award  prizes  among  the 
exhibitors ;  and  in  discharging  this  part  of  their  duty,  the  Directors  will 
hereafter  invite  the  co-operation  of  the  most  eminent  and  capable  of  their 
fellow-citizens. 

If  we  effect  our  object,  we  shall  not  only  have  imparted  a  fresh  impetus 
to  the  career  of  our  great  metropolis,  but  we  shall  have  given  an  impulse  to 
mechanical  skill  and  manufacturing  industry  ;  we  shall  have  raised  higher 
the  standard  of  taste  ;  we  shall  have  extended  and  diffused  the  knowledge 
of  the  various  families  of  the  Old  World ;  and,  in  so  doing,  we  shall  have 
strengthened  the  great  bonds  of  peace  and  good-will. 

The  Association  is  incorporated,  by  an  Act  of  the  Legislature  of  the  11th 
March,  1852,  for  the  term  of  five  years. 

The  capital  of  the  Company  is  $200,000,  to  be  divided  into  shares  of  $100 
each,  and  may  be  increased  by  the  Directors  to  $300,000. 

The  price  of  admission  to  the  Exhibition  is  limited  to  fifty  cents,  and  the 
cost  of  the  building  is  restricted  by  the  charter  to  $200,000. 

The  Act  of  Incorporation  provides  that,  for  one  day  at  least,  the  children 
and  scholars  of  the  schools  of  the  Public  School  Society,  of  the  Ward  Schools, 
and  of  the  Free  Academy,  of  the  Deaf  and  Dumb  and  Blind  Institutions, 
and  of  the  Orphan  Asylums  in  the  city  of  New- York,  shall  be  admitted  free 
of  charge. 

It  also  provides,  that  the  nett  proceeds  of  one  day's  exhibition  shall  be 
appropriated  and  paid  over  to  the  Treasurers  of  the  Fire-Department  Fund, 
for  the  benefit  of  Widows  and  Orphans  of  deceased  Firemen  in  the  cities 


THE  GREAT  EXHIBITION, 


of  New- York  and  Brooklyn,  and  divided  between  them  in  the  proportions 
of  three-fourths  to  the  former  and  one-fourth  to  the  latter. 

Theodore  Sedgwick,  President. 

Wm.  Whetten,  Secretary, 

This  was  accompanied  by  the  following  call  for  subscriptions 
to  the  stock  t 

Association  fop*  the  Exhibition  of  the  Industry  of  all  Nations. — 
Capital  $200,000,  with  liberty  to  increase  it  to  $300,000. 

This  Institution  being  organized  under  a  Charter  granted  by  the  Legis- 
lature of  the  State  of  New-York,  the  Company  is  now  ready  to  receive 
Subscriptions  to  the  Stock.  The  books  will  be  opened  at  the  office  of 
Messrs.  Duncan,  Sherman  &  Co.,  of  48  William-street,  Bankers  to  this  Com- 
pany, from  and  after  Friday,  the  second  day  of  April,  1852. 

Ten  per  cent,  on  the  amount  of  subscriptions  to  be  paid  at  the  time  of 
subscribing.    No  subscription  to  exceed  Five  Thousand  Dollars. 

Theodore  Sedgwick,  President. 

Wm.  Whetten,  Secretary. 

The  stock  was  not  sought  for  in  large  sums,  and  this  happily 
secured  its  distribution  among  many  holders.  It  was  taken  by 
more  than  one  hundred  and  fifty  individuals  and  firms.  On  the 
24th  of  May,  1852,  Mr.  Maxwell,  Collector,  of  the  Port,  stated 
that  the  General  Government  would  consider  the  building  a 
Bonded  Warehouse,  for  which  favor  the  Directors  had  applied. 

In  order  to  arrange  the  Foreign  Department,  Charles  Buschek, 
of  London,  well  known  as  a  Commissioner  in  the  Austrian  De- 
partment of  the  Crystal  Palace  there,  was  appointed  an  agent  to 
secure  the  co-operation  of  the  manufacturers  of  Europe.  The 
architectural  staff  was  then  appointed,  as  follows  :  C.  E.  Det- 
wold,  Superintending  Architect  and  Engineer ;  Horatio  Allen, 
Consulting  Engineer ;  and  Edmund  Hurry,  Consulting  Archi- 
tect. Matters  were  now  so  advanced  that  the  Directors  were 
enabled  to  issue  the  following  circular  : 

Office  of  the  Association  for  the  Exhibition  of  the  Industry  of  all  ) 
Nations,  New  York,  July  12th,  1852.  J 

The  Association  for  the  Exhibition  of  the  Industry  of  all  Nations 
give  notice,  that  the  Exhibition  will  be  opened,  in  the  City  of  New  York, 
on  the  2d  day  of  May,  1853. 

The  Municipal  Authorities  have  granted  to  them  the  use  of  Reservoir 
Square,  and  they  are  proceeding  to  erect  thereon  a  building  worthy  of  the 
purpose  to  which  it  is  to  be  devoted. 

The  Association  desire  to  make  the  Exhibition,  in  fact  as  well  as  in  name, 
a  representation  from  other  countries  as  well  as  their  own,  of  Raw  Mate- 
rials and  Produce,  Manufactures,  Machinery,  and  Fine  Arts. 

To  this  end,  they  have  made  arrangements  with  Charles  Buschek,  Esq, 


INTRODUCTION. 


3d 


late  Commissioner  of  the  Austrian  Empire  at  the  Industrial  Exhibition  of 
London,  whose  skill,  experience  and  high  character  offer  the  most  satisfactory- 
security  to  contributors  from  abroad. 

Mr.  Buschek  is  the  authorized  Agent  of  this  Association,  for  all  countries 
other  than  the  Continent  of  America,  and  as  such  has  received  its  instruc- 
tions. 

All  communications  from  Contributors  abroad  must  be  addressed  to  him 
at  "  The  Office  of  the  Exhibition  of  the  Industry  of  all  Nations  in  New 
York,"  No.  6  Charing  Cross,  London.  He  will  state  to  them  the  nature  of 
the  powers  given  and  authority  conferred,  and  will  also  explain  the  great 
inducements  offered  by  this  enterprise  to  European  Exhibitors. 

This  Association  will  correspond  with  all  persons  in  the  United  States, 
the  Canadas  and  British  Provinces,  the  West  Indies,  and  this  Continent  gene- 
rally, who  may  desire  to  contribute  to  this  Exhibition. 

All  such  communications  must  be  addressed  to  "  The  Secretary  of  the 
Association  for  the  Exhibition  of  the  Industry  of  all  Nations,  New  York.'1 

The  Association  is  now  ready  to  receive  applications,  and  it  is  desired 
that  they  be  sent  in  immediately.  Due  notice  will  be  given,  hereafter, 
when  the  building  will  be  ready  for  the  reception  of  articles. 

Application  for  the  admission  of  objects  to  the  Exhibition  must  represent 
intelligibly  their  nature  and  purpose,  and  must  also  state  distinctly  the  num- 
ber of  square  feet,  whether  of  wall,  floor,  or  counter,  required. 

Machinery  will  be  exhibited  in  motion — the  Motive  Power  to  be  furnished 
by  the  Association — and  applications  for  the  admission  of  Machinery,  to  be 
so  exhibited,  in  addition  to  the  general  description  and  the  requisition  for 
space,  must  set  forth  the  amount  of  Motive  Power  required. 

The  Association  deem  it  proper  to  announce,  that  Paintings  in  Frames 
will  be  exhibited. 

As,  notwithstanding  the  magnitude  of  the  proposed  building,  there  must, 
necessarily,  be  a  limitation  of  space,  the  Association  reserves  the  right  to 
modify  or  reject  applications,  but,  in  so  doing,  will  be  governed  by  strict 
impartiality,  looking  only  to  the  general  objects  of  the  enterprise. 

The  Association  also  reserves  the  right  of  determining  the  length  of 
time,  not  to  exceed  in  any  case  one  season,  during  which  objects  shall,  seve- 
rally, form  part  of  the  Exhibition. 

Exhibitors  are  requested  to  designate  an  agent,  to  whom  their  contribu- 
tions shall  be  delivered  when  withdrawn  from  the  Exhibition. 

Prizes  for  excellence  in  the  various  departments  of  the  Exhibition  will  be 
awarded  under  the  direction  of  capable  and  eminent  persons. 

With  this  statement  the  Directors  solicit  the  co-operation  of  the  Produc- 
tive Intellect  and  Industry  of  their  own  and  other  countries. 

Theodore  Sedgwick,  President. 

Wm.  Whetten,  Secretary. 

This  was  sent  to  the  Foreign  Ministers  at  Washington,  who  all 
responded  favorably  and  cordially. 

As  no  building  of  the  kind  contemplated  had  been  erected 
in  the  United  States,  the  want  of  experience  in  regard  to 
it  was  felt.  Sir  Joseph  Paxton,  who  designed  the  plan  of 
the  London  Crystal  Palace,  very  liberally  furnished  one  for 
our  edifice  ;  but  the  shape  of  the  ground  prevented  its  adoption. 


xii 


THE  GREAT  EXHIBITION. 


Mr.  Downing,  since  deceased,  also  offered  one  much  admired, 
but  it  was  excluded  on  account  of  its  incompatibility  with  the 
terms  of  the  city  grant,  which  required  an  edifice  of  Iron  and 
Glass.  Leopold  Eidlitz  offered  a  plan  with  a  suspension  roof, 
designed  to  obviate  the  necessity  of  arches  with  wide  spans. 
James  Bogardus  presented  one  of  a  circular  building  with  suc- 
cessive colonnades,  one  over  the  other,  resembling,  in  a  degree, 
the  Coliseum.  J.  W.  Adams  sent  in  a  plan  of  a  great  octa- 
gonal vault  or  dome,  supported  by  ribs  made  of  fasces  or  clus- 
ters of  gaspipe.  Other  original  and  excellent  plans  were 
offered ;  but,  after  due  deliberation,  the  board  accepted  that  of 
Carstensen  and  Gildemeister.  Mr.  Gildemeister  had  been 
for  some  time  established  in  New  York  as  architect  and  artist ; 
Mr.  Carstensen  designed  the  Tivoii  and  Casino  of  Copenhagen, 
the  chief  public  grounds  of  that  city,  and  had  but  lately  come 
among  us.  This  plan  was  accepted  on  the  26th  of  August.  It 
wras  slightly  changed  from  the  original  for  the  sake  of  economy, 
a  basement  story  being  omitted.  The  work  was  immediately  com- 
menced. Masonry  contracts  were  signed  with  Smith  &  Stewart, 
and  Lorenzo  Moss  on  the  4th  of  September  ;  and  on  the  25th 
of  the  same  month,  the  chief  part  of  the  iron  work  was  con- 
tracted for.  The  foundation  and  castings  were  contracted  to  be 
delivered  on  the  21st  of  October.  To  secure  uniformity,  a  pat- 
tern-shop was  established  in  this  city,  under  Sheppard  &  Purvis, 
and  the  iron  contractors  were  several,  in  order  to  expedite  the 
work,  as  follows :  Jackson ;  Stillman,  Allen  &  Co.  ;  Hogg  and 
Delamater ;  Buckup  &  Pugh ;  and  F.  S.  Claxton,  of  New 
York  ;  Slater  &  Steele,  of  Jersey ;  the  Matteawan  Company, 
of  Fishkill ;  Templins,  of  Easton,  Pennsylvania  ;  Betts,  Pusey, 
Jones,  and  Seal,  of  Wilmington,  Delaware;  and  Miller  and 
Williamson,  of  Albany. 

It  is  not  necessary  to  trace  here  all  the  details  of  the  building 
processes,  or  the  means  employed  to  secure  the  co-operation  of 
artists  and  artizans  in  worthily  filling  the  edifice.  A  few  par- 
ticulars will  suffice. 

The  erection  of  the  first  column  of  the  Palace  was  honored 
by  appropriate  ceremonies  on  the  30th  of  October,  1852.  On 
that  occasion  the  Governor  of  New  York  and  other  notabilities 


INTRODUCTION. 


xiii 


were  present;  and  Mr.  Sedgwick  made  an  address  to  the  Gov- 
ernor, of  which  the  following  is  an  extract  : 

Permit  me,  sir,  to  say  a  word  respecting  the  building  itself.  We  intend, 
and  I  believe  it  is  not  too  much  to  claim,  that  the  palace  itself  shall  make 
an  epoch  in  the  architecture  of  our  city.  We  believe  that  it  will  give  an 
impulse  to  construction  in  the  material  of  iron  that  will  be  of  the  greatest 
service  to  that  interest.  Iron '  constructions  have  already  been  carried  far 
forward  by  a  most  intelligent  and  accomplished  mechanic — Mr.  James 
Bogardus — and  I  believe  that  the  experience  of  this  building  will  give  it  a 
great  additional  impulse.  Its  superior  lightness,  durability,  cheapness,  and 
facility  of  construction,  give  it  immense  advantages  over  any  other  material. 
We  are  erecting  an  edifice  that  will  cover,  on  the  ground  floor,  two 
and  a  half  acres,  and  it  will  be  done  in  the  winter,  in  about  six  months,  for 
a  sum  not  mueh  varying  from  $200,000.  If  any  one  compares  this  time 
with  what  would  be  required  for  a  building  of  any  other  material 
except  wood,  the  immense  superiority  of  iron  is  most  perceptible.  [Ap- 
plause.] But  there  are,  sir,  ulterior  considerations  which  I  wish  clearly  to 
state.  The  large  cities  of  the  elder  world,  especially  on  the  continent,  pos- 
sess great  galleries  for  popular  instruction  and  entertainment.  It  is  at  first 
sight  remarkable,  though  in  fact  easily  intelligible,  that  in  a  country  repos- 
ing entirely  on  popular  power,  comparatively  nothing  is  done  on  a  great 
public  scale  for  the  pleasure  and  instruction  of  our  adult  people.  We  have 
no  galleries,  no  parks.  This  is  not  the  place  to  say  anything  in  favor  of  a 
park,  though  an  object  which  should  be  dear  to  the  heart  of  every  New 
Yorker.  But  I  desire,  in  regard  to  the  other  objects,  to  point  out  how  easy 
it  will  be  hereafter  to  convert  this  building  into  a  great  People's  Gallery  of 
Art.  Its  structure  is  eminently  adapted  for  the  purpose.  We  stand  here 
on  the  city's  ground,  and  it  will  be  completely  in  the  power  of  the  city  here- 
after to  accomplish  this  result.  Long  after  our  Association  shall  have  dis- 
appeared, I  hope  this  building  may  stand — as  long  as  yonder  massive  and 
majestic  creation ;  and  like  that,  in  the  hands  of  the  public  authorities,  be 
one  of  those  monuments  which  make  the  Government  dear  to  the  people. 
[Cheers.]  Allow  me  to  say  a  few  words  of  our  purposes.  The  undertaking 
is  a  private  one — fostered  by  no  governmental  aid  ;  but  the  interests  are  so 
numerous  and  divided,  that  not  the  slightest  color  is  afforded  for  the  charge 
of  speculation.  There  are,  I  venture  to  say,  very  few  undertakings  of  equal 
magnitude  which  are  represented  by  so  large  a  number  of  parties,  and  it 
thus  becomes  practicable  to  impress  upon  the  direction  and  management  of 
the  enterprise,  that  broad,  liberal,  impartial,  and,  as  it  were,  national  charac- 
ter, which  is  essential  to  its  proper  development.  If  our  success  is  what  we 
expect  and  intend  it  shall  be,  we  shall  claim  the  honor  of  it  for  our  institu- 
tions— those  institutions  which  enable  private  individuals  to  accomplish 
what  in  other  countries  vast  governmental  efforts  are  required  to  effect.  We 
shall  claim  the  honor  for  the  country  and  for  the  people  ;  for  that  mixture 


ariv 


THE  GREAT  EXHIBITION. 


of  individual  energy  and  practical  accommodation  which  gives  sucji  wonder- 
ful efficiency  to  the  American  character ;  for  that  public  spirit  and  private 
good  feeling  of  which  we  have  such  striking  evidence  here  to-day — bringing 
together  at  this  moment  men  of  all  parties,  to  work  together  for  a  common 
object  of  general  interest 

The  building  progressed  steadily,  though  impeded  by  certain 
delays,  which  seem  to  attend  all  such  undertakings  in  a  greater 
or  less  degree.  The  ceremonies  of  its  inauguration  and  its 
appearance  and  contents  are  described  in  the  extracts  from  The 
New  York  Tribune,  which  appear  in  this  volume. 

As  we  write,  the  organization  of  the  Juries  to  award  Medals 
to,  and  make  honorable  mention  of,  the  best  contributions  to  the 
Cry  stal  Palace,  has  taken  place.  This  work  was  confided  to  Messrs. 
B.  Silliman,  Jr.,  B.  P.  Johnson,  and  Samuel  Webber,  who  have 
the  entire  control  and  management  thereof,  and  are  styled  the 
Commissioners  on  Juries.  There  are  fifteen  Juries ;  and  the 
number  on  each  Jury  is  intended  to  be  regulated  by  the 
amount  of  labor,  and  the  greater  or  less  diversity  of  subjects 
assigned  to  each.  The  choice  of  Jurors  is  made  from  the  entire 
Union,  and  from  foreign  countries  in  proportion  to  their  contri- 
butions. No  exhibitor  can  be  on  a  Jury,  if  competing  for  a 
prize  to  be  awarded  by  it ;  nor  can  firms  to  which  a  Juror 
belongs  receive  awards.  The  decisions  of  each  Jury  will  be 
final  in  its  own  groups  of  subjects  or  classes.  No  portion  of  a 
Jury  can  award  a  prize,  though  it  may  act  in  detail  or  by  Sub- 
Committees.  The  Presiding  Officer  or  Chairman  of  each  Jury 
must  be  chosen  by  its  own  members  ;  likewise  the  Reporter. 
There  will  be  two  classes  of  Medals — Silver  and  Bronze ; 
beside  an  Honorable  Mention.  On  this  head,  the  precedent  of 
the  London  Exposition  will  be  adopted. 

That  precedent  is  as  follows  :  The  London  Commissioners 
considered  it  inexpedient  to  establish  beforehand  rules  so  pre- 
cise as  to  fetter  the  discretion  of  the  Juries  upon  which  the  task 
was  to  devolve.  They  simply  laid  down  general  principles. 
For  example,  in  the  department  of  raw  materials  and  produce, 
prizes  were  awarded  in  reference  to  the  value  and  importance 
of  the  article,  and  the  excellence  of  the  sample;  as  regards  pre 
pared  materials,  important  novelty,  skill,  and  the  ingenuity  dis- 


INTRODUCTION. 


played  were  considered.  In  machinery,  novelty,  efficiency, 
economy,  and  social  utility.  In  manufactures,  increased  useful- 
ness, permanency  of  dyes,  improved  forms  of  arrangements, 
superior  quality  or  skill  of  workmanship,  new  use  of  known 
materials,  new  combinations  of  the  same,  beauty  of  design  in 
form  or  color,  or  both,  in  reference  to  utility,  and  cheapness 
relatively  to  excellence  of  production.  In  sculpture,  models, 
and  the  plastic  arts,  rewards  were  given  in  reference  to  beauty 
and  originality,  improvements  in  mode  of  production,  applica- 
tion of  art  to  manufactures,  and  in  case  of  models,  to  the  inter- 
est attaching  to  the  subject  which  they  represent.  The  higher 
medals  were  awarded  equally  to  cheap  and  dear  things,  provi- 
ded the  former  had  the  merit  of  utility  or  beauty. 

The  award  of  the  American  Crystal  Palace  will  be  accompa- 
nied by  a  document  of  attestation,  bearing  the  signatures  of  the 
President  of  the  Association,  and  the  Chairman  of  whatever  Jury. 
The  silver  medal  will  be  given  only  for  originality  of  design,  or 
invention,  or  discovery,  coupled  with  due  skill  of  fabrication  and 
excellence  of  material.  Their  first  meetings  for  the  transac- 
tion of  business  were  on  the  9th  of  November,  at  ten  o'clock 
in  the  morning,  at  the  Crystal  Palace.  Those  not  resident  in 
New  York  have  their  travelling  expenses  paid,  but  not  their 
expenses  while  here. 

The  Directors  of  the  Crystal  Palace  are  as  follow : 


Mortimer  Livingston, 
Alfred  Pell, 
Auguste  Belmont, 
Alexander  Hamilton,  Jr. 
Geo.  L.  Schuyler, 
Elbert  J.  Anderson, 
Henry  R.  Dunham, 
W.  C.  H.  Waddbll, 
Jacob  A.  Westervelt, 
James  A.  Hamilton, 
Samuel  Nicholson. 


Philip  Burrowes, 
Johnston  Livingston, 
Chas.  W.  Foster,. 
Theodore  Sedgwick, 
Wm,  W.  Stone, 
Wm.  Whetten, 
John  Dunham, 
Wm.  Kent, 
Watts  Sherman, 
F.  W.  Edmonds, 
J.  J.  Eoosevelt. 


1 


xvi 


THE  GREAT  EXHIBITION. 


The  following  are  the  Jury  Lists: 


JURY  A— CLASS  I. 
Minerals,  Mining  and  Metallurgy,  and  Geological  and  Mining  Flans  and  Sections. 


Prof.  James  D.  Dana,  Yale  College. 
Dr  F.  A.  Genth,  Philadelphia. 
Baron  Yon  Geroit.  Prussian  Minister,  Bait. 
Prof.  James  Hall,  Albany. 


Win.  C.  Redfield,  Yew  York. 
Prof.  Henry  D.  Rogers,  Philadelphia. 
Prof.  Benjamin  Silliman,  Yale  College. 
Geo.  Sumner,  Esq.,  Boston. 


JURY  B— COMPRISING  CLASSES  II.  AND  IV.  AND  PART  OF  CLASSES  X. 
XVIII.  XXIV.  AND  XXV. 

Chemical  and  Pharmaceutical  Products  and  Processes,  Vegetable  and  Animal  Sub- 
stances employed  in  Manufactures  ;  Chemical  and  Pharmaceutical  Apparatus  ;  Dyed 
and  Printed  Fabrics,  shown  as  such,. Glass  for  Chemical  Utensils  made  both  in  Stone 
Ware  and  Hard  Porcelain  : 


Dr.  Jenkins,  Natchez,  Miss. 

Dr.  B.  W.  McReady,  No.  8  Ninth  st.,  N.  Y. 

H.  Planten,  New  York. 

Dr.  J.  Lawrence  Smith.  Louisville.  Ky. 

Dr.  John  Torrey,  No.  91  Wall  st.  N.  Y. 

Dr.  David  A.  Wells,  Springfield,  Mass. 


Prof.  James  C.  Booth,  Philadelphia. 
John  F.  Currie,  Esq.,  No.  55  Prince  st.  N.Y. 
John  Cornwall,  Esq.,  Louisville.  Ky. 
George  W.  Cushing,  No.  43  Broad  st.  N.  Y.  J 
Henry  Coggell,  No.  78  Broad  st.  N.  Y. 
Dr.  Wolcott  Gibbs,  New  York. 
Dr.  A.  A.  Hayes,  Boston,  Mass. 

JURY"  C— COMPRISING  CLASSES  III.  AND  IX. 
Substances  used  as  Food,  and  Agricultural,  Horticultural,  and  Dairy  Implements  and 

Machines. 

M.  Edmond  Poirier,  No.  120  Pearl  st.  N.  Y. 
Prof.  John  A.  Porter,  Y"ale  College. 
Col.  John  W.  Proctor.  Danvers.  Mass. 


Henry  Wager,  Esq.,  Western,  Oneida,  N.Y". 
Dr.  Arthur  Watts,  Chillicothe,  Ohio. 
H.  D.  Telkampf,  No.  85  Beaver  st.  N.  Y. 


John  Anderson,  New  Y'ork. 
George  W.  Dobbin,  Esq.,  Baltimore. 
Dr.  A.  S.  Elwyn,  Philadelphia. 
William  Evans,  Esq.,  Montreal,  C.  W. 
Major  Philip  R.  Freas,  Germantown.  Pa. 
Watson  Newbold,  Esq.,  Columbus,  N.  J. 
James  B.  Oakley,  Esq.,  No.  15 South  st.  N.Y7. 

JURY"  D— CLASSES  V.  VI.  AND  VII. 
Machines  for  Direct  Use,  including  Steam,  Hydraulic  and  Pneumatic  Engines  and 
Railway  and  other  Carriages,  Machinery  and  Tools  for  Manufacturing  purposes,  Civil 
Engineering,  Architectural  and  Building  contrivances. 
Prof.  A.  D.  Bache,  LL.D.,  Coast  Survey.W 
N.Victor  Blaumont,  No.  650  Plouston  st  NY 
John  B.  Bell,  Esq.,  Pittsburgh,  Pa. 


James  Bogardus.  Centre  st,  N.  Y. 
James  Brewster,  New  Haven,  Conn. 
Samuel  Chase,  Holyoke,  Mass. 
Charles  W.  Copeland,  No.  66  Broad  w.  N.Y. 


George  Geddes,  Fairmount,  Onondaga  Co. 
Col.  G.  W.  Hughes,  West  River,  Anne  Arun- 
del Co.,  Md. 
Gen.  Charles  T.  James,  Providence,  R.  I. 
Daniel  Tredwell,  Boston. 
Samuel  W oodruff,  Hariford,  Conn. 
W.  R.  Wright,  Bureau  of  Agriculture,  Q,u. 


JURY  E-CLASS  VIII. 
Naval  Architecture,  Military  Engineering,  Ordnance,  Armor  and  Accoutrements. 


Major  Mordecai.  U.  S.  A. 
Capt.  Morris.  U.  S.  N. 
Col.  James  Page,  Philadelphia. 
Hon.  Jas.  T.  Pratt,  Rocky  Hill,  Conn. 
Maj.  Gen.  Winfield  Scott,  U.  S.  A. 


Sir  James  Alexander,  Quebec. 
E.  K.  Collins,  Esq.,  No.  56  Wall  st.  N. 
Capt.  Cullum,  U.  S.  A. 
Col.  A.  G.  Hazzard,  Enfield,  Conn. 
T.  W.  Lenthal.  Naval  Constructor. 
Donald  McKay,  Esq.,  Boston. 

JURY  F— CLASS  X.  Xa.  Xb. 

Philosophical  Instruments  and  Products  resulting  from  their  Use,  Daguerreotypes,  Maps 
and  Charts,  Horology,  Surgical  Instruments  and  Appliances. 

Prof.  John  W.  Diaper.  New  York. 
Col.  J.  D.  Graham,  U.  S.  A. 
Dr  Guyardetti,  Leroy-place. 


Prof.  Louis  Agassiz,  Cambridge. 
Prof.  J.  H.  Alexander.  Baltimore. 
Prof.  J.  W.  Baily,  West  Point. 
Samuel  W.  Benedict,  Esq.,  No.  5  Wall  st. 
Capt.  Chas.  H.  Bigelow.  Lawrence,  Mass! 
Geo.  W.  Blount,  Esq.,  179  Water  st.  N.Yr. 
J  L.  Buckingham,  Esq.,  Philadelphia. 
Dr.  Burnet,  Boston. 

W.  Darling  Campbell,  Esq.,  M.  P.,  (Quebec 


Prof.  Joseph  Henry.  Sec.  Smith.  Inst.  Was. 
Dr  Leidy,  Philadelphia. 
Dr.  Samuel  Parkman.  Boston. 
Prof.  James  Renwick,  Columb.  Coll.  N.  Y. 
Mr.  Mullcr,  No.  166  Broadway. 


INTRODUCTION. 


xvii 


JURY  G— CLASSES  XL  XII.  XIII.  XIV.  XV. 
Manufactures  of  Cotton,  Wool,  Silk,  Flax  and  Hemp,  Mixed  Fabrics,  Shawls,  Vestings, 


&c. 


John  B.  Hall,  Esq.,  No.  42  Beaver  st.  N.  Y. 

N.  Kingsburg.  Esq.,  Rockvilie,  Conn. 

A.  Laurie,  Notre  Dame  st.,  Montreal. 

Wm.  Mali,  Esq.,  iNew  York. 

Edward  Christ,  No.  68  Broad  st.,  New  York. 

Oscar  Zollikoffer,  No.  107  Liberty  st. 

M.  Muhling,  No.  21  South  William  st. 


Mons  Albinola,  No.  54  Pine  st.  New  York. 
Samuel  Batcheider.  Esq.,  Cambridge,  Mass. 
Ward  Cheney,  Esq.,  Manchester,  Conn. 
Frederic  A.  Conckiin,  Esq.,  No.  6  Park-Pla. 
Amory  Edwards,  Esq.,  No.  9  Park-Place. 
Samuel  C.  Frothingham,  Jr.  Boston,  Mass. 
Jules  Griollet.  Courier  des  Etats  Unis,  N.  Y. 
N.  Stanton  Gould,  Esq.,  Hudson,  N.  York. 

JURY  H— CLASSES  XVI.  AND  XX. 
Leather,  Furs  and  Hair,  and  their  Manufactures,  Gentlemen's  Wearing  Apparel. 
George  S.  Beardmore,  Esq.,  London,  C.  W.  David  Samuel,  Esq.,  Philadelphia. 
SethBoyden,  Esq.,  Newark,  N.  J.  (Thomas  Smith,  Esq.,  Hartford.  Conn. 

Charles  Field,  Esq.,  Philadelphia.  Charles  St.  John,  Esq.,  142  Water  st.  N.  Y. 

Wood  Gibson,  Esq.,  No.  302  Broadway, NY.  George  Taber,  Esq.,  Philadelphia. 
W.  Hoyt.  Esq.,  No.'  40.  Spring  st.  N  York.  Nathaniel  Wildman,  Danbury,  Conn. 
Chas.  M.  Leupp.  Esq.,  No.  20  Ferry  st.  NY.  E.  M.  Young,  Esq.,  No.  37  Ferry  st.  N.  Y. 
John  C.  Lord,  Esq.,  No.  104  Water  st.  N.Y.  D.  Wallenstein,  Esq.,  No.  34  Beaver  st.  N.Y. 
John  T.  Pray,  Esq.,  Boston,  Mass.  F.  Ludwig,  Esq.,  No.  50  New  st.  N.  York. 

JURY  I— PART  OF  CLASS  XIX.  AND  CLASS  XX. 
Tapestry,  Decorative  Furniture  and  Upholstery,  including  Papier  Mache,  Paper  Hang- 
ings and  Japanned  Goods,  Marble  Ornaments  and  Marbleized  Irons. 


Daniel  Bixby,  Esq.,  Bixby's  Hotel. 
Julius  Catlin,  Esq..  Hartford,  Conn. 
Mons.  Cotta,  New  York 


George  Piatt,  Esq.,  No.  53  Broadway,  N.Y. 
George  Ponsot,  Esq.,  No.  502  Broadw.  N.Y. 
A.  T.  Porter,  Esq.,  Philadelphia. 


Wm.  Gibson,  Esq.,  No.  374  Broadway,  N  Y.  John  Sartain,  Esq.,  Philadelphia. 
C.  W.  Meakim,  Esq.,  No.  44  St.  James  st.  W.  Sloane,  Esq..  No.  245  Broadway,  N.  Y. 

Montreal.  Prof.  Van  Der  Wevde,  No.  35  Washington- 

Henry  Pettis,  Esq.,  Boston.  Place,  New  York. 

JURY  la— PART  OF  CLASS  IX.  AND  CLASS  XX. 
Lace,  Sewed  and  Ta.mboured  Muslins,  Embroidery,  Fringes,  Fancy  and  Industrial 

Works  and  Female  Wearing  Apparel. 
John  Beck,  Esq.,  No.  355  Broadway,  N.  Y.I  A.  Kunsler,  Esq. 

Thos.  C.  Doremus,  Esq.,  No.  21  Park-place.  Thomas  Lowndes.  Esq.,  No.  49  Exc. -place. 
S.  R.  Downer,  Esq.,  No.  44  Beaver  st.  N.  Y.|John  Neil,  Esq.,  Philadelphia. 

JURY  J— CLASSES  XXI.  AND  XXII. 
Cutlery  and  Edge  Tools,  Iron,  Brass,  Pewter  and  General  Hardware,  including  Lamps, 

Chandeliers  and  Kitchen  Furniture. 


E.  W.  Blake,  Esq.,  New  Haven,  Conn. 
Erastus  Corning,  Esq.,  Albany,  N.  Y. 
Wm  B.  Dinsmore,  Esq..  No.  59  Broadway. 
H.  N.  Hooper,  Esq.,  Boston. 
Professor,  E.  N.  Hosford,  Cambridge. 
Adam  Norrie,  Esq.,  No.  90  Broadway,  N.Y. 


Samuel  Steele,  Esq.,  Cincinnati. 

Wm.  H.  Scoville.  Esq.,  Waterbury,  Conn. 

E.  F.  Sanderson,  Esq.,  No.  10  Cliff  st.  N.Y. 

Matthias  Stratton,  Esq.,  Philadelphia. 

R.  S.  Luqueer,  Esq.,  Hanover-square,  N.  Y. 

Chas.  Zollner,  Esq.,  No.  221  Bowery. 


JURY  K— CLASSES  XXVIII.  AND  XXIX. 
Manufactures  from  Animal  and  Vegetable  Substances  not  Woven,  felted  or  otherwise 
specified,  Miscellaneous  manufactures  and  small  wares.  Confectionery,  Toys,  Taxi- 


dermis, 

Gen.  Avezzana,  No.  103  Pearl  st.  N.  Y. 

Chas.  Ahrenfeldt.  Esq.,  No.  50  Maiden-lane, 

W.  H.  Cary,  Esq.,  No.  245  Pearl  st. 

Dr.  Wm.  H.  Ellet,  N.  Y. 

A.  D.  Euson,  Esq.,  Hartford,  Conn. 

John  Gebhardt,  Albany. 

Edward  Lamarche,  No.  80  John  st. 


W.  T.  Porter,  Esq.,  Park-place. 
Geo.  Reed,  Esq.,  Deep  River,  Conn. 
Robt.  L.  Stuart,  Esq.,  cor.  Gr.  and  Ch.  sts. 
Thomas  Shortis,  Esq.,  Toronto,  Canada. 
Philip  Saunders.  Esq.,  New  Haven,  Conn. 
Henry  Wurtz,  Esq.,  Newark,  N.  J. 


JURY  L-CLASS  XXIII. 
Work  in  Precious  Metals  and  their  Imitations,  Jewelry  and  other  Personal  Ornaments, 

except  Bronzes  and  articles  of  vertu,  which  are  transferred  to  the  action  of  Jury  O. 
Samuel  T.  Crosby,  Esq..  Boston.  lMons.  Pastacaldi,  No.  87  Pearl  st. 

Geo.  P.  Curtis,  Esq..,  No.  400  8th  Av.  Robert  Rait,  Esq.,  No.  261  Broadway. 

Ferdinand  Eaysten,  Esq.,  No.  140  Pearl  st.lWm.  Stebbins,  Esq.,  No.  204  Broadway. 


xviii 


THE  GREAT  EXHIBITION. 


SUB-JURY  L— CLASSES  XXIV.  AND  XXV. 
Glass  Manufactures,  Porcelain  and  other  Ceramic  Manufactures. 
Ebenezer  Collamore,  Esq.,  No.  293  Broadw 
Benj.  M.  Mumford,  Esq.,  No.  101  Pearl  st. 
John  C.  Jackson.  Esq  ,  No.  113  Water  st. 
P.  C.  Duinraer.  Esq.,  Jersey  City. 
Richard  Burlen,  Esq.,  No.  98  Pearl  st.  N.Y, 

JURY  M— CLASS  XXX 
Musical  Instruments. 
Geo.  F.  Bristow,  Esq.,  Director  of  Sacred 

Music  Society,  N.  Y. 
J.  S.  Dwight,  Esq.,  Boston. 
Theo.  Eisfeldt,  Esq.,  Director  of  Philhar- 
monic Society,  N.  Y. 
Wm.  Henry  Fry,  Esq.,  New  York. 
Emilius  Girac,  New  York. 


Andrew  T.  Wale,  Esq.,  Boston. 
C.  C.  Bechet,  Esq.,  No.  24  Exchange-place. 
Earl  Douglas,  No.  81  Pearl  st. 
Mr.  Heye,  No.  183  Pearl  st. 


Mons.  Jullien. 

Max  Maretzek,  Director  of  the  Italian  Op. 
Leopold  Meignen,  Philadelphia. 
William  Norris,  Philadelphia. 
R.  Storrs  Willis,  New  York. 
William  Hall,  New  York. 


JURY  N— CLASS  XVII. 
Paper  and  Stationery,  Types,  Printing  and  Bookbinding,  and  Specimens  of  Ornamental 

Penmanship. 


Wm.  H.  Appleton.  Esq.,  No,  200  Broadway 

Henry  Butler,  Esq.,  Paterson,  N.  J. 

A.  B.  Clark,  Esq.,  Brooklyn 

E.  I.  Danforth,  Esq.,  No.  1  Wall  st.  N.  Y. 

Geo  Desbarats  (Queen's  Printer,)  Quebec 

James  Fields,  Esq.,  Boston. 

Robert  Hoe,  Esq.,  No.  31  Gold  st.  N.  Y. 


Mr.  Lewis.  No.  48  William  st.  N.  Y. 

Mr.  Ortell,  Brooklyn. 

Charles  Sherman,  Esq.,  Philadelphia. 

Chas.  Van  Benthuysen,  Esq.,  Albany. 

R.  Grant  White.  Esq.,  No.  70  Wall  st.  N.Y. 

Mr.  Bell,  No.  304  Fulton  st.  N.  Y. 


JURY  O— CLASS  XXXI. 
Fine  Arts,  Sculpture,  Paintings,  Engravings,  etc. — Bronzes  and  Articles  of  Vertu  from 

Class  XXIII. 


Mr.  Edward  Antonissen,  No. 406  4th av.  N.Y. 

A.  M.  Cozzens,  Esq.,  No.  89  Water  st.N.Y. 

Chas.  A.  Dana.  New  York  Tribune. 

A.  B.  Durand,  Esq.,  No.  91  Amity  st.  N.  Y. 

Chas.  Elliott,'  Esq.,  New  York. 

Hon.  Edward  Everett,  Boston. 

Prof.  Foresti,  No.  258  19th  st.  New  York. 


Henry  Greenough,  Cambridge,  Mass. 
Prof.  S.  F.  B.  Morse,  Pougbkeepsie. 
Mons.  Sebron,  No.  4  Leroy-place. 
Wm.  Young.  Esq..  Editor  of  the  Albion. 
Henry  Ulke,  'Esq.,  No.  196  Grand  st.  N.  Y. 
Henry  K.  Browne,  Esq.,  Brooklyn. 


It  is  the  glory  and  strength  of  every  truly  great  work,  whether 
in  the  visible  or  audible  form  of  Art,  or  in  the  intangible  nature  of 
enterprise  pure  and  simple,  or  in  the  combination  of  thought  and 
expression,  that  it  is  not  adequately  understood  on  being  first  pre- 
sented to  the  world.  Not  counting  the  tears,  disappointments  and 
struggles  of  genius  which  cannot  find  a  public  plummet  to  reach 
the  profundities  of  its  conceptions,  but  coming  to  works  absolutely 
born  and  placed  within  the  range  of  public  vision,  how  few  great 
things  are  really  apprehended  !  Take  the  Public  Press,  for  exam- 
ple. It  is  but  a  few  years, — some  ten  or  so, — that  it  has  been  put 
upon  a  basis  wide  enough  for  the  wants  of  the  community,  or  in  its 
division  of  labor,  accuracy  of  information,  earnestness  and  inde- 
pendence of  thought,  and  mechanical  resources,  has  merited  the 
abstract  claim  set  up  for  its  grandeur. 

Take,  then,  any  other  great  thing— the  Electric  Telegraph  for 
example.    This  discovery,  though  its  value  was  mathematically 


INTRODUCTION. 


xix 


demonstrated,  went  begging  for  years.  Congress,  although  the 
working  model  was  in  a  lower  chamber  of  the  Capitol,  could  not  be 
induced  to  look  at  it.  And,  when  it  began  to  work,  so  little  was 
its  worth  understood,  that  the  cost  of  transmitting  messages  was 
placed,  under  a  supposed  necessity,  beyond  the  means  of  ordinary 
people — (in  Europe  this  cost  is  still  frightfully  high) — and  it  is 
only  after  some  ten  years'  working  that  the  sentiment  of  the  gran- 
deur and  utility  of  the  thing  begins  to  lower  the  tariff  of  prices  by 
outside  pressure. 

So,  too,  in  the  last  important  thing  before  the  public,  the  ignor- 
ance in  many  quarters,  as  we  see  by  the  press,  of  the  value  of  such 
a  common  centre  of  art  and  invention  is  remarkable.  But  the 
inherent  resources  of  the  Crystal  Palace  are  so  grand,  and,  if  sus- 
tained, its  novel  results  are  so  vast,  that,  with  the  view  of 
widening  such  a  contracted  estimate  of  its  values,  we  shall  offer  a 
few  remarks  on  it. 

The  great  utility  of  the  Crystal  Palace  consists  in  its  forming  a 
standard  of  Art,  and  an  exchange  for  testing  the  values  of  Indus- 
try. It  is  now  rated  as  a  thing  for  the  moment ;  a  house  is  built, 
and  so  many  industrious  or  clever  people  have  been  induced  to 
put  in  their  productions  as  a  cheap  mode  of  advertising  them. 
But  that  were  a  narrow  view  of  the  enterprise.  We  must  accus- 
tom ourselves  to  look  upon  the  Crystal  Palace  as  a  permanent 
institution.  We  must  feel  the  necessity  of  not  letting  it  die  out. 
We  need  it  woefully.  We  need  a  broad  national  and  cosmopolitan 
platform  hereon  genius  or  ingenuity  may  at  once  place  its  pro- 
ductions and  obtain  the  highest  sanctions  ;  or  where  pretence  may 
meet  with  a  decisive  check.  'It  is  in  vain  to  speak  of  the  Patent- 
Office  at  Washington  as  a  proper  place.  Washington  is  not  a 
metropolis.  Without  disparaging  its  claims,  suffice  to  say  it 
wants  the  houses  and  the  multitudes  to  make  a  metropolis. 
Neither  is  Boston,  with  its  Mechanics'  Institute  ;  nor  Philadelphia, 
with  its  pioneer  Franklin  Institute ;  nor  New- York  with  its 
American  Institute,  fully  equal  to  the  national  wants  of  such  an 
art  and  industry  show-house.  But  particularly  are  Patent- 
Office  and  State  Institutes  unequal  to  the  indispensable  part  of 
cosmopolitanism  which  a  World's  Fair  can  alone  play.  A  nation, 
like  an  individual,  requires  many  a  hard  rub  before  ^he  conceit 


THE  GREAT  EXHIBITION. 


can  be  taken  out  of  it ;  on  the  other  hand,  it  requires  equally  to 
measure  its  strength  with  others  before  it  can  be  made  truly 
aware  of  its  strength.  Doubts  of  the  naval  superiority  of  the 
Americans  at  sea  were  set  at  rest  by  the  war  of  1812  ;  though  it 
was  deemed  presumptuous  to  cope  with  the  Briton  on  his  tradi- 
tional element.  So,  too,  in  England  at  least  it  was  thought  pert 
for  the  yacht  America  to  walk  the  waters  with  unblenched  cour- 
age, and  challenge  the  swiftest  of  the  swift  of  England's  craft  to 
decisive  contest.  But  when  The  Times  reported  that  the  lag- 
ging yachts  of  its  nation  were  so  far  behind  that  they  were 
"  nowhere"  as  to  distance,  the  revolution  of  opinion  was  complete. 
"We  believe  there  are  things — artistic  things,  in  which  America 
may  measure  her  powers  with  Europe,  which  now,  owing  to 
their  being  above  the  standard  of  vulgar  objective  determination, 
are  not  recognized  by  their  countrymen.  Let  it  then,  be  fairly  and 
fully  understood  that  the  Crystal  Palace  is  a  permanent  founda- 
tion. Let  it  be  recognized  that  every  possible  artistic,  scientific 
and  industrial  production  can  be  sent  there,  and  seen  and  ad- 
judged by  competent  persons.  Whether  it  be  iron,  wood  or  ivory, 
gold,  silver,  velvet,  woollen  or  cotton  ;  whether  it  appeal  to  the 
eye,  or  the  ear,  or  the  palate,  or  to  economics  general  or  special, 
let  there  be  a  standing  Court  and  Jury  to  determine,  or  seek  to 
determine,  its  relative  and  positive  value  ;  its  realities,  its  sug- 
gestions, its  deficiencies,  its  triumphs.  Then  the  sickening  delays 
which  talent  or  genius,  suffer  would  be  greatly  done  away  with. 
If  the  public  cannot  be .  taught  to  embrace  a  great  thing  at  once 
— as  they  never  have  been — there  may  at  least  be  great  labor- 
saving  machinery  in  processes  leading  in  part  to  such  a  result. 
The  best,  largest  and  most  potent  machine  for  such  a  desidera- 
tum is  surely  the  Crystal  Palace, — not  simply  in  its  present  moral 
and  physical  state,  but  connected  with  the  possible  extensions 
which  are  inherent  in  its  national  ami  cosmopolitan  character. 

In  another  point  of  view,  the  Crystal  Palace,  as  a  standard 
place  of  Exhibition,  is  of  the  highest  value.  The  original  ac- 
quaintance which  the  American  public  at  large  had  with  a  good 
statue  may  be  dated  from  the  exhibition  of  a  single  one  by 
Powers  some  few  years  back.  Now,  however,  we  have  in  the 
Palace  a  wfaole  gallery  of  statues  (not  to  mention  paintings,)  and 


INTRODUCTION". 


the  force  of  comparison,  without  which  works  cannot  he  tested, 
is  thus  available.  The  reasons,  too,  appear  for  our  pursuing 
high  art  in  order  to  produce  works  wherein  our  inferiority  is  evi- 
dent. We  cannot  survey  the  rich  collection  of  articles  which 
Europe  presents  without  being  made  acutely  sensible  of  our  short- 
comings. "We  must  feel,  too,  the  economical  beauty  of  achieving 
ourselves  whatever  noble  art  is  practised  in  other  countries. 

The  persons,  it  may  be  appropriately  stated,  who  have 
accepted  the  office  of  Jurors  to  determine  Prizes  and  Honorable 
Mentions  for  the  contributors  of  the  Crystal  Palace  are  now 
actively  engaged  in  their  work.    Those  who  have  not  looked 
into  the  matter  cannot  fully  imagine  the  extent  of  the  labors  so 
cheerfuly  assumed  by  a  considerable  number  of  our  fellow-citi- 
zens.   Besides  the  toil  of  travel — and  the  Jurors  must  often 
come  from  a  distance,  as  they  have  been  designedly  chosen 
from  various  parts  of  the  Union,  in  order  that  all  may  have  a 
fair  chance — there  is  a  degree  of  separate  and  collective  labor 
required  that  must  prevent  rapid  decisions,  however  desirable, 
from  taking  place.  We  are  particularly  cognizant  of  one  Jury, 
the  individual  members  of  which  spend  much  of  the  day  exam- 
ining carefully  and  systematically  the  hundreds  of  things  within 
their  bailiwick,  taking  down  at  the  same  time  copious  positive 
and  comparative  notes.    Besides  this,  they  hold  during  the  day 
a  secret  session  where  the  utmost  latitude  of  debate  is  indulged 
in,  the  Chairman  maintaining  due  order  and  seeing  that  every 
one  has  a  full  chance  for  equal  discussion.    This  morning  ses- 
sion lasts  sometimes  three  hours  or  more,  and  it  is  an  excellent 
study  to  learn  the  vast  amount  of  information  then  brought 
forward.    Whole  cyclopaedias  of  knowledge  come  forth;  the 
most  accurate  and  ripened  experience  of  men,  almost  every  one 
of  whom  is  a  celebrity  in  his  department,  are  detailed ;  and 
often  a  discussion  of  an  hour  is  held  in  unbroken  continuity 
upon  the  more  intricate  parts  of  the  question.    We  could  also 
name  a  Jury  that  meets  at  ten  o'clock  at>  night  and  goes 
through,  in  combination,  the  work  of  investigation  which  had 
been  pursued  by  its  members  individually.    This  procedure  is 
the  most  piquant  of  all.    Rival  projectors,  inventors,  artisans, 
artists,  are  summoned  on  the  stand  in  their  works,  at  least 


THE  GREAT  EXHIBITION. 


before  this  puissant  body  ;  how  different  the  high-priestly  talk 
on  this  occasion  from  the  ordinary  superficiality  which  passes 
with  the  world  !  Reputations  deemed  inexpugnable  are  shat- 
tered by  a  single  keen,  retrospective  and  prospective  remark  ; 
some  unexpected  requirement  is  suddenly  suggested ;  some 
new  and  more  difficult  standard  of  excellence  agreed  upon. 
And  then  the  great  works  for  competition,  already  winnowed, 
are  placed  side  by  side  for  comparison,  sometimes.  Ranged  as 
in  battle-array  come  the  industrial  and  artistic  hosts  of  France, 
Britain,  Germany,  Italy,  America.  Carefully  cold  is  the  deci- 
sion now.  Enthusiasm  is  out  of  the  question.  The  words  are 
few  and  peremptory.  The  Chairman's  measurement-book  is 
out.  The  various  shades  of  excellence  and  inferiority  are  deter- 
mined by  a  list  of  adjectives  of  genial  or  merciless  import  as 
they  elevate  or  depress  the  object  before  them.  The  opinion 
of  each  Juror  is  separately  asked.  Is  this  or  that  quality  a 
pretension  of  the  work  examined  of  the  first,  second,  third, 
fourth,  or  fifth  order?  Is  this  other  quality  so  and  so?  Is  this 
requirement  at  such  or  such  a  point  of  excellence?  And  so 
through  the  whole  searching  catalogue. 

If  the  reader,  in  his  more  inquiring  moods,  has  ever  attended 
a  dissecting-room  ;  if  he  has  seen  the  fearfully-made  body  laid, 
its  vitality  fled,  on  a  deal  table  ;  if  he  has  observed  the  surgeon's 
knife  piercing  the  wondrous  texture  of  the  outward  skin,  and 
all  the  startling  economy  of  glory  and  beauty  which  God  has 
arrayed  to  perfect  his  greatest  work,  Man,  revealed ;  heart, 
brain,  spine,  ganglionic  tissue,  all  patent  to  the  eye,  and  the 
mysteries  of  their  appearance  and  relations  developed  as  they 
lie  almost  undisturbed,  save  as  to  their  outward  covering — he 
can  by  comparison  imagine  the  materialized  body  of  an  Idea 
laid  before  such  a  Jury  in  such  a  place.  Nothing  is  allowed' to 
escape  them.  No  partiality,  no  flattery  to  win  the  dull  cold 
ear  of  death  is  needed  for  the  first ;  and  in  its  way  the  last 
hears  naught  but -words  of  searching  truth. 

The  vapid  puffs  of  the  venal  or  foolish,  to  vaunt  this  or  that 
thing,  are  in  especial  contrast  with  the  analytical  scenes  we 
have  hinted  at.  The  great  force  and  dignity  of  truth  are  here 
exhibited.    The  value  of  such  a  high  Court  of  Appeals — classi- 


INTRODUCTION. 


xxiii 


fying  in  the  face  of  the  public  and  of  the  world,  the  great  works 
that  genius  or  labor  may  offer — weighing  the  saliencies  and 
splendors  of  whole  nations — describing  a  circle  of  economics 
and  esthetics — cannot  be  over-estimated.  We  must  see  in  it 
the  vestibule  to  a  permanent  institution,  whose  tribunals  will 
try  reputations  in  art  and  labor,  habitually — whose  decisions 
America  and  the  world  will  respect — whose  wholesome  advice, 
though  it  may  grieve  aspirants  at  the  moment,  may  prove  to 
them  the  cause  of  ultimate  and  indisputable  superiority — whose 
abnegation  of  vulgar  nationality  may  stimulate  our  countrymen 
into  speedy  and  successful  competition  with  Europe  in  all  those 
arts  wherein  she  is  now  our  superior. 

The  Crystal  Palace,  we  would  remark,  is  inadequately 
visited  by  our  city  people,  while  country  people  and  those  from 
other  towns  than  New  York  flock  to  it.  How  is  this  ?  Is  it 
the  old  story,  that  "  the  stranger  knows  more  of  the  sights  of  a 
town  than  residents  ?"  If  so,  or  from  whatever  cause,  the  city 
folks  do  not  throng  the  Crystal  Palace,  are  greatly  the  losers. 
The  chance  to  study  these  art  and  industry  wonders  of  the 
world  may  never  occur  again.  Some  wiseacres,  never  having 
seen  it,  have  called  the  Exhibition  a  humbug.  A  humbug  ! 
Why,  if  the  Crystal  Palace  had  nothing  in  it,  not  even  the 
Police  on  guard,  it  would  be  a — or  the — lion  of  the  thirty-one 
States.  The  building  is  magnificent.  The  dome  ranks  only 
after  such  as  St.  Peter's,  at  Rome.  The  splendid  innovation  on 
stale  precedent,  in  the  materials  of  the  building — iron  and  glass  : 
the  types  of  solidity  and  lightness  united,  would  alone  recom- 
pense any  person  of  ordinary  taste  and  curiosity  for  a  long 
journey  in  order  to  reach  the  premises.  But  once  inside,  what 
a  brilliant,  heroic  revelation  of  human  skill,  devotion,  industry, 
combination,  versatility,  and  genius  does  it  present  %  What  is 
not  there  ?  From  the  huge  labor-crushing,  time-deriding  ma- 
chinery which  promises  the  millennium  of  comparative  repose 
to  the  under-fed,  over-worked  toilers  of  thousands  of  years — to 
the  delicate  and  tiny  missionary  of  beauty  in  diamonds,  gold, 
silver,  or  colors — what  a  startling  array  there  is  of  superb 
works !  How  rich  and  suggestive,  too,  is  the  contrast  of  the 
various  powers  and  performances  of  different  nations!  How 

1* 


xxiv 


THE  GREAT  EXHIBITION. 


naif  the  outworkings  of  their  respectively  indigenous  minds — as 
natural  as  the  forest's  growth  or  the  water's  fall  !  How  national 
prejudice  dwarfs  and  dwindles  in  the  contemplation  of  such 
works  as  Paris,  London,  Milan,  or  Berlin  sends  forth. 

Look  at  yonder  collection  of  French  skill.  Examine  those 
Gobelin  tapestries — so  dwelt  upon  in  novels  and  travels — but 
now  first  revealed  to  us  in  this  new  world  in  all  the  plenitude 
of  fabric,  color,  and  design.  What  a  lesson  do  they  afford  of 
the  extent  of  "human  perseverance  !  Here  is  a  great  painting 
copied  faithfully.  But  every  tint  in  full  and  all  its  dying  glo- 
ries, is  exactly  imitated  by  the  magical  skill  of  the  loom.  A 
whole  day  will  not  exhaust  the  contemplation  of  its  beauties. 
And  then  regard  those  Sevres  Vases.  What  perfection  !  Can 
form  or  design,  or  color  further  go  1  We  say,  no.  The  Par- 
thenon has  never  been  eclipsed  in  architecture  :  neither  has  a 
Sevres  Vase  in  the  constructive  and  decorative  beauty  which  it 
displays.  It  is  perfection.  Contemplate  it  for  at  least  an  hour. 
Time  wrell  spent.  There  learn  to  respect  the  French  people 
who  can  habitually  produce  such  Olympian-like  miracles  of 
art.  Stop,  too,  before  those  French  bronzes.  Can  anything 
be  finer  1  They  are  diminutive  in  size,  but  gigantic  in  compo- 
sition. That  horse  fairly  leaps  and  snorts  ;  that  wounded  bird 
seems  lifted  up  in  its  dying  agony,  and  heavy  bronze  trans- 
muted into  feathery  waves  of  hovering  tragedy.  Wondrous 
art !    Who  is  the  great  man  who  made  it? 

"  The  world  knows  not  its  greatest  men." 

Enter  likewise  the  department  of  the  sturdy  Briton.  How 
the  Graces  at  last  are  playing  over  the  foggy  island  !  Just  look 
at  that  Silver  ware.  Uncover  yourself,  for  you  are  in  the  holy 
temple  of  art,  and  a  god  of  beauty  present.  Look  at  those 
vases.  They  seem  to  have  been  made  for  the  delicate  hands  of 
Hebe.  Contemplate  that  prize  silver  work.  Look  at  the  men, 
the  horses,  the  palm-trees.  Ask  yourself,  is  it  mechanics,  is  it 
artists,  is  it  special  inspirations  which  have  produced  this? — 
what  has,  or  rather  what  has  not  been  called  into  action  to  pro- 
duce these  radiating  splendors  of  imagination  and  execution  ? 
But  how  are  such  men  honored  in  England?  Could  the 
Herald's  office  tell  us  ? 


INTRODUCTION.  xxv 

But  step  over  to  the  Thorwaldsen  Gallery  of  Statues.  Here 

is  the  Christ  and  his  Twelve  Apostles.    They  may  not  be  

they  are  not— works  of  the  highest  order  of  originality—but 
what  a  lesson  they  teach  of  artistic  devotion  and  religious  sub- 
limity I  Mark  the  soft  rays  as  they  stream  through  the  veiled 
sky-light  and  reveal  the  figures  placed  against  the  dark  back- 
ground. What  a  serene,  holy  influence  is  thus  cast  around  ! 
How  it  yields  up  this  onward,  impulsive,  material  epoch  to  the 
dreamy  mistiness  of  the  middle  ages,  when  the  sculptor's  and 
architect's  skill  taught  the  Redeemer's  love  and  agony,  and  life 
was  seen  through  the  heaven-wreaked  splendors  of  the  great 
cathedral  window — circular  type  of  eternity,  and  lustrous 
mimic  of  glad  tidings  of  salvation  ! 


THE 


GREAT  EXHIBITION 

OF 

ART  AND  INDUSTRY. 


L 

THE  PALACE. 

This  edifice  starts  in  its  delicate  beauty  from  the  earth  like  the 
imagining  of  a  happy  vision.  Viewed  at  a  distance,  its  burnished 
dome  resembles  a  half-disclosed  balloon,  as  large  as  a  cathedral, 
but  light,  brilliant,  and  seemingly  ready  to  burst  its  bands  and  soar 
aloft.  In  every  sense,  the  Crystal  Palace  is  admirable.  To  us  on 
this  side  of  the  water,  it  is  original.  Nothing  like  it  in  shape,  ma- 
terial, or  effect,  has  been  presented  to  us.  If  it  were  to  contain 
nothing,  it  would  alone  be  an  absorbing  attraction,  and  be  beyond 
all  else  in  New  York,  an  architectural  curiosity. 

The  building  is  two  stories  high.  The  first  is  in  the  form  of  an 
octagon,  the  second  of  a  Greek  cross.  The  centre  of  this  is  a 
dome,  one  hundred  and  forty-eight  feet  high.  The  four  corners  of 
the  octagon  are  furnished  each  with  two  towers,  seventy  feet  high. 
These  towers  support  flag-staffs,  adding  to  the  lightness  of  their  ap- 
pearance. The  construction  of  the  building  is  similar  to  that  of  the 
original  in  London,  so  far  as  the  connection  of  iron  columns,  girders, 
and  so  forth,  go  ;  but  the  principal  parts  of  the  rest,  the  dome  in- 
cluded, were  fashioned  by  the  architects,  Messrs.  Carstensen  and 


14 


THE  GREAT  EXHIBITION. 


Gildermeister,  who  devised  the  plan  of  the  whole  structure  as 
well  as  the  details.  The  main  building  covers  173,000  square  feet, 
galleries  included ;  and  the  additional  building  33,000,  being 
200,000  in  all.  The  additional  building  is  composed  of  a  first  and 
a  second  story  gallery,  21  feet  broad  and  450  feet  long,  lit  irom 
above,  the  sides  being  quite  closed  up,  so  as  to  form  a  suitable 
place  to  exhibit  pictures  and  statues.  This  additional  building  is 
connected  with  the  main  building  by  two  one-story  wings,  which 
contain  the  refreshment  rooms,  and  the  mineralogical  department 
under  the  charge  of  Prof.  Silliman,  Jr. 

There  are  twelve  stairways,  the  balustrades  of  which  are  light 
iron  tracery,  in  accordance  with  the  general  spirit  of  the  designs. 
The  stairways  are  at  each  point  of  the  compass,  on  the  sides 
and  under  the  dome.  The  great  circular  windows,  facing  at  four 
points,  add  much  to  the  charm  of  the  effect. 

Walls,  properly  speaking,  the  building  has  not,  being  enclosed 
with  glass  sustained  by  iron  pillars.  This  vast  mass  of  crystal 
occupies  45,000  square  feet. 

The  cast-iron,  weighs  1,200  tons;  the  wrought,  300.  Each 
pane  of  glass  is  16  by  38  inches.  The  prevailing  style  of  the 
architecture  is  Moorish,  and  Byzantine  in  its  decorations.  The 
ceilings  are  painted  in  octagons,  in  blue,  white,  red,  and  cream- 
color.  The  single  fault  we  find  with  the  colors  of  the  other  por- 
tions of  the  building  is,  that  the  supporting  pillars  are  of  the  same 
color  with  the  other  solid  works,  while  if  they  were  bronzed,  a 
certain  sameness  would  be  avoided,  and  the  impression  of  their 
character  for  strength  be  distinctly  conveyed. 

The  decorative  artist  is  Mr.  Greenough.  The  offices  of  the  di- 
rectors and  artists  are  in  imitation  of  satin-wood,  their  appearance 
being  very  neat. 

The  entrances  of  the  Palace  are  three,  all  alike  :  one  on  the 
Sixth  Avenue,  one  on  Fortieth,  and  one  on  Forty-second  street. 
Each  entrance  is  forty-seven  feet  wide,  the  central  nave  is  forty- 
one  feet  wide,  and  the  aisles  fifty-four  feet.  "Within,  at  the 
entrance,  the  visifor  sees  an  arched  nave  forty-one  feet  wide,  sixty- 
seven  feet  high,  and  three  hundred  feet  long.  The  dome  is  one 
hundred  feet  across.  The  building,  though  not  near  so  large  as 
its  prototype  of  the  London  Exhibition,  is  superior  in  architectural 


THE  PALACE. 


15 


beauty.  It  is  a  magnificent  ornament  to  the  city,  by  which  it 
should  be  purchased  as  a  permanent  property.  Various  ovations 
could  be  fitly  celebrated  in  it.  The  work  assures  a  national  re- 
nown to  the  architects,  Messrs.  Carstensen  and  Gildermeister. 
The  plans  were  submitted  in  July,  1852,  accepted  in  August,  and 
operations  commenced  in  November.  After  delays,  which  should 
have  been  expected,  the  formal  opening  took  place  on  the  14th 
of  July,  1853,  though  the  building  itself  was  not  then  completed, 
while  barely  half  the  articles  intended  for  exhibition  were  in  po- 
sition. For  some  weeks  the  leakage  of  the  roof  on  every  re- 
currence of  violent  rain  was  excessive,  threatening  to  destroy  the 
more  perishable  goods,  many  of  which  were  doubtless  seriously 
damaged. 

A  comparison  of  the  American  with  the  British  Palace  of  In- 
dustry is  by  no  means  damaging  to  the  former.  True,  we  miss 
here  the  noble  transept  of  the  London  edifice  ;  we  miss  its  stately, 
graceful  elms,  so  admirably  testifying  of  Nature  in  the  very  me- 
tropolis of  Art ;  we  miss  its  superb  Glass  Fountain,  with  its 
abundant  flow  of  leaping  crystal  water.  There  is  no  single  view 
in  our  Exhibition  equal  to  that  from  the  crystal  fountain  east  and 
west  through  the  grand  aisle  stretching  one  hundred  reds  on  either 
hand  and  replete  with  the  grand  achievements  of  Genius  and 
Labor.  But  the  lofty,  magnificent  Dome  of  the  American  Palace 
has  no  parallel  in  the  British,  and  probably  has  none  in  the  world, 
unless  it  be  that  of  St  Peter's  at  Rome.  Then  the  brilliant  and 
generally  judicious  coloring — on  the  inside  as  wTell  as  externally — 
of  the  glass  and  iron  composing  our  Palace,  is  a  great  improve- 
ment on  the  Quaker-like  plainness  of  its  London  exemplar,  which 
seemed  but  a  paler  reflex  of  those  leaden  British  skies.  Ours 
is  said  to  cover  but  one-fifth  the  space  engrossed  by  its  prototype  ; 
but  the  actual  difference  in  their  relative  capacity  must  be  far 
]ess  than  is  implied  in  this  proportion.  We  judge  the  capacity 
of  our  Crystal  Palace  to  be  about  one-third  that  of  the  British. 
Its  galleries  are  relatively  finer  and  more  spacious.  The  eye  is 
better  satisfied  with  its  symmetry,  its  decorations,  and  its  colors. 
We  were  agreeably  disappointed  in  its  capacity,  so  far  as  the  accom- 
modation of  visitors  is  regarded.  As  the  London  edifice  was 
pretty  full  when  sixty  thousand  persons  were  in  it,  and  it  was 


16 


THE  GREAT  EXHIBITION. 


said  to  have  been  absolutely  crowded  by  one  hundred  thousand, 
we  had  supposed  fifteen  thousand  as  many  as  our  Palace  would 
comfortably  hold,  and  twenty  thousand  the  utmost  extent  of  its 
capacity.  Experience  proves  that  twenty-five  thousand  may 
meet  in  the  New  York  edifice,  without  serious  inconvenience  or 
pressure.  The  lack  of  seats,  which  was  a  serious  defect  in  the 
London  Exhibition,  is  noted  here  also.  There  are  many  thousands 
so  unaccustomed  to  constant  walking  that  a  single  hour's  locomo- 
tion fatigues  them.  These  should  have  ample  opportunity  to  rest 
without  leaving  the  edifice,  so  as  to  renew  their  observations 
without  inconvenience.  The  retiring-rooms,  refreshment  saloon, 
&c,  which  are  such  indispensable  adjuncts  of  such  an  Exhibition, 
were  not  ready  for  weeks  after  the  opening,  and  then  the  charges 
for  refreshments  were  the  subjects  of  general  complaint.  Of  course 
the  Managers  had  no  interest  in  these  exactions,  but  they  might 
have  foreseen  and  prevented  them. 

The  few  last  days  of  preparation  for  the  opening  were  signal- 
ized by  the  most  untiring  exertions  within,  around,  and  upon  the 
Palace. 

Besides  an  army  of  workmen  in  shops  and  factories  preparing 
the  materials  for  the  building,  there  were  at  work  upon  it  between 
six  and  seven  hundred.  It  was  a  scene  of  rare  industry.  Thickly 
resonant  blows  from  the  stalwart  arms  of  industry  greeted  the  ear 
in  wild  confusion.  Workmen  perched,  like  autumnal  pigeons  on 
lofty  boughs,  clustered  within  and  without  the  vast  edifice,  and 
the  magic  web  of  improvement  each  day  proceeded.  Each  man 
appeared  to  be  enthusiastically  engaged  on  his  task,  forming  a 
rivulet  to  meet  in  a  wide  sea  of  triumph.  And  not  alone  was 
the  cunning  hand  of  the  artisan  displayed  in  works  of  iron,  wood, 
or  colors  ;  for  here  were  now  assembled  the  sons  of  toil  and  taste 
from  all  parts  of  Europe.  The  Russ,  the  Italian,  Briton,  Teuton, 
were  all  busily  engaged  in  the  work  of  arranging  their  contribu- 
tions. It  was  a  great  battle  of  industry  and  love,  and  the  God 
of  such  battles  surely  observed  and  blessed  it. 


THE  OPENING. 


17 


II. 

THE  OPENING. 

Notwithstanding  the  immense  confusion  of  the  Palace  on. the 
day  preceding  the  Inauguration,  we  were  surprised  on  entering  it 
the  next  morning  to  find  the  dome  completed,  and  glorious  in  its 
artistic  beauty  ;  the  stairways  arrayed  with  their  crimson  and 
gold,  and  many  of  the  divisions  elaborate  in  their  ornamentation, 
completely  arranged  and  containing  their  various  contributions. 

The  vastness  of  the  City  of  New  York  was  strikingly  illustra- 
ted by  the  weather  of  that  day.  The  President  and  his  suit  were 
caught  in  a  heavy  rain  in  the  lower  part  of  the  city,  lasting  an 
hour,  wThile  the  early  visitors  at  the  Palace  were  ignorant  of  the 
circumstance,  the  atmosphere  being  dry  and  the  sun  bright  in  that 
quarter. 

The  approaches  to  the  Palace  were  very  much  crowded  as  we 
proceeded  there  about  eleven  o'clock.  The  thickly-studded  drink- 
ing shops  were  flaunting  in  their  intemperate  seductions.  The 
various  shows  of  monsters,  mountebanks,  and  animals,  numerous 
as  on  the  jubilee-da^ys  of  the  Champs  Elysees,  opened  wide  their 
attractions  to  simple  folk.  Little  speculators  in  meats,  fruits,  and 
drinks,  had  their  tables  and  stalls  at  fresco.  A  rush  and  whirl 
of  omnibuses,  coaches,  and  pedestrians,  encircled  the  place. 
But  amid  all  this  were  plainly  discernible  the  excellent  provisions 
of  the  police  to  maintain  order.  The  entrances  to  the  Palace 
were  kept  clear,  and  no  disturbance  manifested  itself  through  the 
day.  Different  colored  tickets  admitted  the  visitors  at  three 
different  sides  of  the  Palace,  the  fourth  closing  up  against  the 
giant  Croton  Water  Reservoir. 

There  were  two  platforms  partially  under  the  dome,  the  centre 
point  under  which  being1  occupied  by  Baron  Marochetti's  exceed- 
ingly absurd  statue  of  Washington,  with  Carew's  indescribably 
absurd  statue  of  Webster — the  worst  calumny  on  that  great  man 


18 


THE  GREAT  EXHIBITION. 


ever  yet  perpetrated,  or  that  can  be  perpetrated — standing  behind 
it.  One  of  these  platforms  was  toward  Forty-second  street,  or, 
the  north  nave  ;  the  other  toward  the  Croton  Water  Reservoir, 
on  the  east  nave. 

According  to  the  programme,  they  were  filled  by  the  following 
classes  of  persons  : — 

ON  THE  NORTH  NAVE  PLATFORM. 
Gen.  FRANKLIN  PIERCE,  President  of  the  United  States. 

MEMBERS  OF  THE  CABINET. 

Jefferson  Davis,  Secretary  of  War. 
James  Guthrie,  Secretary  of  the  Treasury. 
Caleb  Cushing,  Attorney-General. 

SENATE  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

Salmon  P.  Chase,  U.  S.  Senator  from  Ohio. 

Richard  Brodhead  Jr.,  U.  S.  Senator  from  Pennsylvania. 

OFFICERS  OF   THE  ARMY. 

Major-General  Winfield  Scott,  Commander-in-Chief. 
Major-General  John  E.  Wool,  and  a  few  others. 

officers  of  the  navy. 
Commodore  James  Stewart. 
Commodore  Boorman,  of  the  Navy  Yard. 

There  were  several  other  naval  and  military  officers  present, 
but  their  names  are  not  recollected. 

GOVERNORS  OF  VARIOUS  STATES. 

Horatio  Seymour,  Governor  of  the  State  of  New  York. 
George  F.  Fort,  Governor  of  the  State  of  New  Jersey. 
Howell  Cobb,  Governor  of  the  State  of  Georgia. 

the  clergy. 

Rt.  Rev.  Jonathan  M.  Wainwright,  D.D.,  Provisional  Bishop  of  New 
York. 

Most  Rev.  John  Hughes,  D.D.,  Archbishop  of  New  York. 
Rt.  Rev.  Henry  J.  Whitehouse,  D.D.,  Bishop  of  Illinois. 
Gardiner  Spring,  D.D. ;  William  Adams,  D.D.,  and  others. 

THE  JUDICIARY. 

Judge  Betts,  Judge  Edmonds,  Judge  Oakley,  Judge  Roosevelt,  Judge 
Sandford,  Judge  Emmett,  <fec. 

MILITARY,  <feC. 

Maj.  Gen.  Sandford,  Brig.  Gen.  Hall,  Brig.  Gen.  Morris,  with  the  Staff 
of  the  Major-General. 


THE  OPENING. 


19 


FOREIGN  COMMISSIONERS. 

Messrs.  Whitworth  and  Wallace,  of  the  English  Commission,  were  pre- 
sent ;  Lord  Ellesmere  we  did  not  see  ;  he  had  not  arrived  in  town  at  10 
o'clock.    Lady  Ellesmere  and  daughters  were  present. 

foreign  ministers,  &c. 
Gen.  Almonte,  Minister  Plenipotentiary  from  Mexico. 
M.  De  Sartiges,  Minister  Plenipotentiary  from  France. 
M.  De  Osma,  Minister  Plenipotentiary  from  Peru. 

ON  THE  EAST  PLATFORM. 

Officers  of  the  Army  and  Navy — a  considerable  number. 

Officers  of  the  Leander.  (We  are  not  sure  that  any  were  present — the 
ship  is  not  here.) 

Foreign  Consuls  resident  in  the  city — a  number  present. 

Judiciary  of  the  Southern  District  of  New  York. 

Jacob  A.  Wester velt,  Mayor  of  New  York. 

Francis  R.  Tillou,  Recorder  of  the  city  of  New  York. 

Richard  T.  Compton,  President  of  the  Board  of  Aldermen. 

Jonathan  Trotter,  President  of  the  Board  of  Assistants. 

The  Common  Council  were  rather  thinly  represented  in  numbers. 

Isaac  V.  Fowler,  Postmaster  at  New  York. 

Rev.  Dr.  Ferris,  Chancellor  of  the  University. 

Charles  King,  LL.  D.,  President  of  Columbia  College. 

Members  of  the  Press,  the  Clergy,  Officers  of  the  American  Institute,  <fcc. 

We  believe  there  was  no  Foreign  Commissioner,  who  came 
from  Europe  to  be  present  at  the  exhibition,  but  the  Earl  of 
Ellesmere.  The  absence  of  this  Commissioner  at  the  opening, 
was  much  to  be  regretted — the  more  so,  as  he  was  prevented 
from  coming  by  indisposition.  Lady  Ellesmere  and  her  two 
daughters  were  present,  however. 

There  were  three  military  bands.  Dodworth,  stationed  in  the 
west  gallery  ;  Bloomfield's  U.  S.  Band,  in  the  south  gallery  ; 
and  an  orchestra,  with  Noll's  Military  Band,  and  a  grand  chorus, 
composed  of  the  members  of  the  New  York  Sacred  Music  So- 
ciety, conducted  by  Mr.  Bristow,  accompajried  also  by  an  organ 
in  the  east  gallery. 

The  President,  being  detained  by  the  storm,  did  not  arrive  at 
the  appointed  time  of  one  o'clock,  being  delayed  till  about  an  hour 
later.  When  he  did  come,  however,  with  his  suit,  civil  and 
military,  he  was  warmly  greeted  by  the  people  within  the  build- 
ing, who  amounted  to  some  20,000,  as  far  as  we  could  judge. 


20 


THE  GREAT  EXHIBITION. 


The  United  States  Band  struck  up  Hail  Columbia,  and  finished 
with  Yankee  Doodle.  This  part  of  the  day's  proceedings  was 
extremely  interesting.  When  the  shouts  had  died  away,  and 
thousands  of  fair  hands,  waving  their  handkerchiefs,  had  ex- 
hausted their  first  burst  of  enthusiasm,  Bishop  Wainwright  de- 
livered, in  a  full,  round  voice,  his  appropriate  prayer.  It  was  in 
the  following  words  : 

PRAYER  OF  BISHOP  WAINWRIGHT. 

We  praise  Thee,  O  God ; "  we  acknowledge  Thee  to  be  the  Lord.    All  the 
earth  doth  worship  Thee,  the  Father  everlasting.    To  Thee  all  angels  cry 
aloud  ;  the  heavens  and  all  the  powers  therein.    To  Thee  cherubim  and 
seraphim  continually  do  cry,  holy,  holy,  holy,  Lord  God  of  Sabaoth  :  Heaven 
and  earth  are  full  of  the  majesty  of  Thy  glory.    We,  O  Lord,  Thy  humble 
and  dependent  creatures  would  now  join  with  Heaven  and  earth  to  praise 
Thy  holy  name.    Thou  art  the  Father  of  our  spirits,  and  the  bounteous 
source  of  all  our  blessings.    While  we  adore  Thy  majesty  and  praise  Thee 
for  Thy  goodness,  we  at  the  same  time,  in  all  humility,  acknowledge  our 
own  sinfulness  and  unworthiness,  and  implore  Thy  forgiveness  through  the 
merits  and  intercession  of  our  Lord  and  Savior  Jesus  Christ.    As  we  thank 
Thee,  0  Lord,  for  all  Thy  mercies  vouchsafed  to  us  and  to  all  men,  espe- 
cially at  this  time  do  we  make  to  Thee  our  grateful  acknowledgment  for 
blessings  Thou  hast  conferred  upon  us  as  a  nation.    We  praise  Thee  for  the 
goodly  heritage  Thou  hast  given  us,  for  the  civil  and  religious  privileges 
which  we  enjoy,  and  for  the  multiplied  manifestations  of  Thy  favor  toward 
us.    Grant  that  we  may  show  forth  our  thankfulness  for  these  Thy  mercies, 
by  living  in  reverence  of  Thy  Almighty  power  and  dominion,  in  humble 
reliance  on  Thy  goodness  and  mercy,  and  in  holy  obedience  to  Thy  righteous 
laws.    Preserve  to  us,  we  beseech  Thee,  and  grant  to  all  the  nations  of  the 
earth  the  blessings  of  peace.    Grant  that  the  Kingdom  of  the  Prince  of 
Peace  may  come,  and,  reigning  in  the  hearts  and  lives  of  men,  unite  them 
in  holy  fellowship,  that  so  their  only  strife  may  be  who  shall  show  forth 
with  most  humble  and  holy  fervor  Thy  praises,  and  most  entirely  and  affec- 
tionately obey  Thy  laws.    O,  Lord,  our  governor,  who  hast  been  mindful 
of  man  and  visited  him;  who  hast  made  him  lower  than  the  angels,  to 
crown  him  with  glory  and  worship,  and  hast  made  him  to  have  dominion  of 
the  works  of  Thy  hands,  and  hast  put  all  things  in  subjection  under  his  feet, 
we  devoutly  thank  Thee  for  the  favor  and  protection  Thou  hast  extended 
to  this  great  and  benevolent  enterprise,  to  inaugurate  which  we  are  now 
assembled.    We  acknowledge  that  it  is  Thy  spirit  which  hath  given  to  man 
understanding.    In  these  manifestations  of  skill,  genius,  enterprise,  and  in- 
dustry, we  would  ask  Thy  inspiring  power.    In  all  this  fertility  of  invention, 
these  powers  of  combination,  these  hands  and  fingers  of  dexterity,  and  this 
abundance  of  materials,  furnished  from  the  inexhaustless  treasury  of  nature, 


THE  OPENING. 


21 


we  would  see  Thy  hand.  We  pray  that  the  happy  influence  of  this  under- 
taking may  be  to  incite  a  generous  and  laudable  competition  among  the  sons 
of  science,  art,  and  labor,  throughout  the  world,  and  that  we  may  all  look 
upon  it  as  a  demonstration  of  the  wisdom  and  goodness  of  God  in  endowing 
man  with  rich  and  manifold  gifts,  Avhich,  faithfully  exercised,  will  contribute 
to  the  comfort,  the  happiness,  and  the  moral  elevation  of  the  great  family 
of  man.  O  Lord,  our  Heavenly  Father,  the  high  and  mighty  Ruler  of  the 
universe,  we  implore  Thy  blessings  upon  the  President  of  the  United  States, 
and  upon  all  in  authority  over  us,  and  so  replenish  them  with  the  grace  of 
Thy  Holy  Spirit,  that  they  may  always  incline  to  Thy  will  and  walk  in  Thy 
way.  Give  grace,  O  Heavenly  Father,  to  all  bishops  and  other  ministers, 
that  they  may,  both  by  their  life  and  doctrine,  set  forth  Thy  true  and  holy 
word,  and  rightly  and  duly  administer  Thy  holy  sacrament.  Prosper,  O 
Lord,  our  schools,  academies,  and  colleges,  and  cause  them  to  be  more  than 
ever  the  promoters  of  sound  learning,  of  pure  morals,  and  undefiled  religion. 
And  we  beseech  Thee  pour  the  quickening  influence  of  Thy  Holy  Spirit  on 
all  the  people  of  this  laud,  and  save  them  from  the  guilt  of  abusing  the 
blessings  of  prosperity  to  luxury  and  licentiousness,  to  irreligion  and  vice. 
May  the  devout  sense  of  Thy  manifold  mercies,  as  vouchsafed  to  us  as  a 
nation,  renew  and  increase  in  us  a  spirit  of  love  and  thankfulness  to  Thee,  a 
spirit  of  peaceable  submission  to  the  laws  and  government  of  our  country, 
and  a  spirit  of  honest  zeal  for  our  holy  faith.  May  we  constantly  improve 
these  inestimable  blessings  for  the  advancement  of  religion,  liberty,  and 
knowledge,  throughout  our  extensive  land,  till  the  wilderness  and  solitary 
place  be  glad  for  them,  and  the  desert  rejoice  and  blossom  as  the  rose.  And 
now,  0  God,  vouchsafe  to  us  Thy  presence  in  the  remaining  services  of  the 
day — direct  us  in  all  our  doings  with  Thy  most  gracious  favor,  and  further 
us  with  Thy  continual  help,  that  in  ail  our  works  begun,  continued,  and 
ended  in  Thee,  we  may  glorify  Thy  holy  name,  and  finally,  by  Thy  mercy^ 
obtain  everlasting  life. 

Almighty  God,  the  fountain  of  all  wisdom,  who  knowest  our  necessities 
before  we  ask,  and  our  ignorance  in  asking,  we  beseech  Thee  to  have  com- 
passion upon  our  infirmities  ;  and  those  things  which  for  our  unworthiness 
we  dare  not,  and  for  our  blindness  we  cannot  ask,  vouchsafe  to  give  us  for 
the  worthiness  of  Thy  Son,  Jesus  Christ  our  Lord,  in  whose  name,  and  in 
whose  holy  words  we  sum  up  our  petitions  unto  Thee,  saying : — 

Our  Father,  which  art  in  Heaven,  hallowed  be  Thy  name ;  Thy  kingdom 
come  ;  Thy  will  be  done  on  earth  as  it  is  in  Heaven.  Give  us  this  day  our 
daily  bread,  and  forgive  us  our  trespasses  as  we  forgive  them  that  trespass 
against  us  ;  and  lead  us  not  into  temptation  but  deliver  us  from  evil,  for 
Thine  is  the  kingdom,  and  the  power,  and  the  glory,  for  ever  and  ever. 
Amen. 

Then  came  stealing  through  the  vast  aisles  the  Hymn  of  Old 
Hundred  set  to  semi-secular  words.    The  effect  where  we  stood 


22 


THE  GREAT  EXHIBITION". 


under  the  dome  was  mystically  grand.    It  might  be  imagined  to 

typify  the  voices  of  distant  nations  rolling  in  harmonious  vastness 
through  the  aisles,  and  bearing  the  accents  of  gentleness  and  be- 
neficence. Their  artistic  interpretation  was  entrusted  to  the  ladies 
and  gentlemen  of  the  Sacred  Harmonic  Society,  and  admirably 
did  they  execute  their  task.  Mr.  George  Bristow  was  the  con- 
ductor of  the  body.  Mr.  Timm,  however,  was  the  chief  director 
of  all  the  musical  arrangements.    The  hymn  ran  thus  : — 

Here,  where  all  climes  their  offerings  send, 

Here,  where  all  arts  their  tribute  lay, 
Before  thy  presence,  Lord,  we  bend, 

And  for  thy  smile  and  blessing  pray, 

For  thou  dost  sway  the  tides  of  thought, 

And  hold  the  issues  in  thy  hand, 
Of  all  that  human  toil  has  wrought, 

And  all  that  human  skill  has  plann'd. 

Thou  lead'st  the  restless  Power  of  Mind 

O'er  destiny's  untrodden  field, 
And  guid'st  him  wandering  bold  but  blind, 

To  mighty  ends  not  yet  revealed. 

Next,  Mr.  Theodore  Sedgwick,  the  President  of  the  Crystal 
Palace  Association,  rose  and  addressed  President  Pierce  in  the  fol- 
lowing language  : — 

Mr.  President  :  Amid  this  concourse  of  people,  in  this  assembly  of  per- 
sonages collected  from  all  parts  of  the  world,  eminent  in  every  department 
of  human  skill  and  genius,  surrounded  by  the  trophies  of  intellect  and  in- 
dustry, the  eye  and  the  mind  naturally,  inevitably  rivet  themselves,  sir,  upon 
you.  [Applause.]  Upon  you,  the  head  of  that  political  system  to  which, 
under  God,  we  owe  our  choicest  public  blessings — -of  that  vast  confederacy 
founded  by  the  immortal  man  whose  effigy  stands  before  us,  and  the  chief 
executive  powers  of  which  have  been  transmitted  through  a  long  line  of  il- 
lustrious statesmen  to  your  hands.  [Renewed  applause.]  It  has  fallen  and 
will  fall  to  the  lot  of  others  to  welcome  you  in  other  capacities.  It  is  my 
duty,  sir,  as  the  presiding  officer  of  the  Association  which  has  raised  this 
edifice,  to  thank  you  most  cordially,  most  respectfully,  for  the  honor  you  have 
this  day  done  us— we  feel  it  deeply.  It  was  perceived  by  us  at  the  very 
outset  of  our  enterprise,  that  it  was  essential  to  our  complete  success  to  ob- 
tain the  approbation,  and  secure  the  confidence  of  our  own  Government — 
that  while  we  were  of  course  mainly  to  rely  on  our  own  energies,  it  was  at  the 
same  time  indispensable  to  create  a  general  conviction  that  our  objects  were 


THE  OPENING. 


23 


public,  and  our  aims  national.  The  work  of  impressing  on  this  undertaking 
the  seal  of  national  approbation,  as  far  as  that  can  be  done  under  the  restric- 
tions of  our  form  of  government — and  I  recall  the  circumstance  with  grati- 
tude mingled  with  pain — was  begun  by  an  illustrious  statesman  now  no  more 
—a  son,  sir,  of  your  own  State.  He  had  a  mind  large  enough,  and  a  heart 
broad  enough,  to  perceive,  even  in  its  infancy,  the  development  of  which 
this  undertaking  was  capable.  How  much  of  interest  his  presence  would 
have  added  to  this  occasion,  I  need  not  say.  Alas  !  his  image  only  is  among 
us.  Genius  knows  no  country.  The  monument  of  Daniel  Webster,  hewn 
out  of  French  stone  by  English  hands,  rises  here  most  appropriately  to  con- 
template the  work  to  which  he  gave  the  first  great  impulse.  What  he  com- 
menced was  continued  by  the  eminent  gentleman  who  succeeded  him  in  the 
last  high  office  which  he  filled — a  gentleman  of  whom  I  may  be  permitted 
to  say  that  the  country  is  still  fortunate  in  commanding  in  another  depart^ 
ment  his  experience  and  ability.  And  finally,  you,  sir,  have  this  day  consum- 
mated the  work,  by  permitting  us  to  greet  the  Chief  Magistrate  of  the 
Republic  within  our  walls.  We  once  more  thank  you,  sir,  for  the  honor  you 
have  done  us.  [Applause.]  Your  presence  here  to-day  proves  the  close 
and  friendly  ties  between  the  Government  of  the  United  States  and  the 
happy  people  whom  its  power  protects — [applause.] — the  cordial  sympathy 
entertained  by  the  highest  functionaries  of  the  Republic  for  any  legitimate 
popular  undertaking — the  intimate  connection  between  labor  and  honor ; 
while,  at  the  same  time,  it  is  proper  here  to  state,  most  distinctly  and  most 
emphatically,  and  especially  to  those  not  so  familiar  with  the  frame-work 
of  our  system,  that  the  government  of  the  Union  is  not  in  the  most  remote 
degree  responsible  for  our  short-comings  in  this  matter,  whatever  they  have 
been,  whatever  they  may  be.  With  the  great  objects  of  our  enterprise,  sir, 
you  are  already  familiar — to  bring  before  our  countrymen  the  choicest  pro- 
ductions of  the  genius  and  skill  of  the  Old  World — to  make  a  first  exhibi- 
tion on  a  national  scale  of  the  trophies  of  the  inventive  spirit  and  restless 
energy  of  our  countrymen — on  a  national  scale  to  collect  (in  the  poetical 
language  of  a  most  distinguished  stranger,  this  day  for  us  unhappily  not 
here)  a  full  representation  of 

"The  arts  for  luxury,  the  arms  for  strife, 
Inventions  for  delight,  and  sight,  and  sound  ;  " 

to  bind  together  the  two  hemispheres — to  extend  the  area  of  commerce  and 
the  fraternity  of  nations.  These  have  been  our  aims.  How  far  they  have 
been,  or  will  be  attained,  it  would  be  most  presumptuous  for  us  to  say.  Re- 
calling to  mind  the  gorgeous  and  gigantic  pageant  exhibited  in  Hyde  Park 
two  short  years  ago — knowing  what  French  genius  has  undertaken  to  es- 
tablish in  the  capital  of  continental  Europe,  that  centre  of  intellectual  life 
and  artistic  luxury,  it  is  enough  to  say,  that  we  have  desired  to  do  something 
for  the  art,  for  the  architecture,  for  the  industry,  of  our  beloved  country,  and 
that  if  we  shall  be  hereafter  pronounced  by  competent  judges  to  have  sue- 


2i 


THE  GREAT  EXHIBITION. 


ceeded,  our  dearest  wishes  will  be  answered.  On  some  particulars,  however, 
I  may  for  a  moment  be  allowed  to  dwell.  Incomplete  as  our  exhibition  yet 
is,  we  have,  what  are  to  us,  abundant  proofs  of  the  interest  which  it  has  ex- 
cited, and  the  results  which  it  will  accomplish.  The  flag  of  England,  borne 
by  a  vessel  commissioned  by  that  royal  lady  who  commands  the  respect  of 
foreign  nations,  as  she  does  the  affections  of  her  own  people — [applause] — 
has  waved  in  our  waters  on  this  peaceful  errand.  The  national  vessel  of 
France  is  on  her  way — that  of  Holland  will  almost  immediately  follow. 
Old  armor  from  the  old  Tower  of  London,  frowning  here,  as  it  did  perhaps 
at  Cressy  or  Poictiers ;  tapestry  and  porcelain  from  the  imperial  manufac- 
tories of  France ;  porcelain  and  iron  from  the  royal  work-shops  of  Prussia, 
are  here,  or  actually  on  the  water  bound  hitherward,  and  I  cannot  express 
too  strongly  our  sense  of  the  kindness  and  courtesy  with  which  our  foreign 
agents  have  been  received  abroad,  no  less  than  our  respect  for  that  liberal 
and  enlightened  policy,  in  obedience  to  the  dictates  of  which  the  sovereigns 
of  Europe  have  vied  with  each  other  in  sending  offerings  which  in  other 
periods  of  the  world  would  have  been  made  to  crowned  heads  alone.  [Ap- 
plause.] Nor,  sir,  are  our  greetings  or  acknowledgments  yet  concluded. 
I  have  still  to  express  the  extreme  gratification  which  we  feel  in  the  presence 
of  so  many  distinguished  agents — distinguished  by  social  position,  by  charac- 
ter, by  attainments — from  ail  parts  of  Europe,  from  all  parts  of  this  conti- 
nent. The  dwellers  on  the  eastern  shores  of  the  Atlantic  are  here  mingled 
with  the  representatives  of  our  own  empire  on  the  coast  of  the  Pacific,  and 
there  are,  I  believe,  here  to-day  twenty  chief  magistrates  of  as  many  states 
of  the  confederacy — lights  of  that  constellation  of  which  you,  sir,  are  the 
central  star.  [Applause.]  We  are  deeply  sensible  of  this  courtesy  and 
kindness,  while,  sir,  we  are  not  so  blind  or  so  vain-glorious  as  not  fully  to 
understand  that  the  honor  is  done  not  to  us,  but  to  you, — [renewed  applause,] 
— and  that  the  homage  of  their  respect  is  above  all  poured  to  the  governing 
power  and  majesty  of  the  Republic.  May  that  power  and  majesty — and  I 
say  it  with  the  profoundest  reverence — be  ever  united  to  and  governed  by 
that  spirit  of  peace  and  good  will  which  is  our  direct  command  from  on 
High,  and  to  contribute  to  which,  in  the  great  family  of  man,  is  the  best,  and 
purest,  and  wisest  action  that  can  bring  us  together  in  this  temple  of  indus- 
try— in  this  palace  of  labor.  But,  sir,  I  detain  my  hearers  from  the  pleasure 
that  I  hope  awaits  them.  Hereafter,  I  may  take  some  more  fitting  occasion 
to  state  in  detail  what  we  have  done,  and  what  we  desire  to  do ;  the  diffi- 
culties we  have  encountered,  and  the  obstacles  we  have  surmounted.  To- 
day, my  voice  is  of  little  moment,  except  for  the  echo  and  the  response 
which,  I  hope,  it  is  fortunately  destined  to  awaken.  Permit  me  then,  sir, 
to  ask  you  to  let  your  voice  be  heard  beneath  our  dome,  and  to  request  that 
you  will,  by  words,  as  well  as  by  your  presence,  inaugurate  this  exhibition 
of  the  industry  of  all  nations. 


Mr.  Sedgwick  speaks  emphatically  well.    His  manner  is  prac- 


THE  OPENING. 


25 


ticed  and  self-possessed,  and  lie  was  much  applauded.  The  Pres- 
ident replied,  evidently  impromptu,  and  his  words  were  well 
chosen.  He  appeared  fatigued  in  the  previous  efforts  he  had 
made  in  public  speaking  during  his  journey,  and  was  very  brief. 
Mr.  Pierce,  however,  most  favorably  impressed  his  auditory.  He 
was  fluent,  earnest,  and  unabashed  before  so  vast  an  auditory. 
We  subjoin  here  the  words  of  his  speech  : 

Sir, — I  return  you,  on  behalf  of  those  of  my  constitutional  advisers  who 
are  with  me,  and  on  my  own  account,  my  warm  and  cordial  thanks  for  the 
reception  you  have  been  pleased  to  extend  to  us.  I  have  come,  Sir,  to 
testify  the  interest  I  feel  in,  and  the  respect  I  entertain  for,  this  great  In- 
dustrial Exhibition — designed  and  calculated  to  promote  all  that  belongs  to 
the  interest  of  our  country.  You,  sir,  and  the  gentlemen  who  have  been 
and  are  associated  with  you,  have  imposed  upon  all  of  us  a  deep  debt  of 
gratitude  for  your  energy  and  perseverance  in  this  great  enterprise.  What- 
ever the  shortcomings  of  which  you  have  spoken  may  be,  I  can  only  remark 
that  they  do  not  appear  here  ;  and,  so  far  as  I  have  been  able  to  perceive, 
they  are  lost  in  your  complete  and  transcendant  success.  [Loud  and  con- 
tinued applause.]  Everything  around  us  reminds  us  that  we  live  in  an 
utilitarian  age,  where  science,  instead  of  being  locked  up  for  the  admiration 
of  the  world,  has  become  tributary  to  the  arts,  manufactures,  agriculture, 
and  all  that  goes  to  promote  our  universal  prosperity.  Sir,  if  you  had 
achieved  no  other  good  but  that  which  you  have  in  bringing  together,  in 
this  metropolis,  citizens  from  all  parts  of  the  Union,  you  would  have  ful- 
filled, perhaps,  one  of  the  most  important  of  missions — that  of  strength- 
ening and  perpetuating  that  blessed  Union.  [Great  applause.]  But  you 
have  done  more,  and  you  have  nobly  alluded  to  it.  Your  Exhibition  has 
been  the  means  of  bringing  here,  from  all  the  civilized  countries  on  the  face 
of  the  globe,  men  most  eminent  in  all  the  walks  of  life  ;  and  thus  you  have 
done  more  than  could  be  done,  in  almost  any  other  manner,  to  promote  that 
great  object  dear  to  you,  dear  to  me,  and  dear  to  my  venerable  friend  near 
me,  [Bishop  Wainwright,]  peace  and  good-will  among  men.  [Applause.] 
I  have  not  the  voice,  at  this  time,  to  address  you  at  any  greater  length,  and 
conclude  by  again  returning  to  you  my  thanks  for  your  generous  reception, 
and  tendering  my  heart's  best  wishes  for  the  success  of  your  praiseworthy 
enterprise.  [Applause.] 

Mr.  Sedgwick,  when  the  President  had  finished,  proposed  three 
cheers  for  the  President,  which  were  heartily  given  by  the  mul- 
titude. 

No  other  speeches  were  made,  but  various  pieces  of  music 
were  sung  and  played  by  the  army  of  artists  present.  The  effect 
of  these  was  magnificent.    At  one  moment,  a  resonant  March, 

2 


26 


THE  GREAT  EXHIBITION".  4 


in  all  the  stately  force  of  double-time,  painting  the  tread  of  armed 
and  plumed  hosts  ;  this,  after  its  echoes  had  died  away,  and 
ceased  to  weave  their  beauties  through  the  arabesque  aisles  and 
the  soaring  dome,  would  be  responded  to  by  another  band,  pour- 
ing forth  some  sensuous  "W altz,  full  of  youth  and  love,  and  the 
spirit  of  early  hearts  and  gentle  hands  ;  then  these  souvenirs  "  of 
the  earth,  earthy,"  would  cease,  and  the  religious  idea  of  the 
glories  of  Art  would  culminate,  as  Handel's  masterpiece,  the 
Messiah  chorus,  came  forth  with  the  colossal  effect  of  a  multi-- 
tude  of  singers,  running  through  fugued,  lyrical  windings,  typical  of 
the  circularities  of  the  soul,  boundless  and  sublime,  and  shouting 
the  old  church  words  and  music — "  Hallelujah  !  Hallelujah  !"  as 
adopted  by  the  genius  of  the  composer,  and  turned  into  trans- 
cendental ecstatic  declamation. 

STRICTURES  ON  THE  OPENING. 

In  commenting  upon  such  an  ovation,  it  would  be  a  grateful 
task  to  us  to  speak  with  unqualified  praise  of  all  the  proceedings, 
but  we  feel  it  a  duty  to  make  an  exception,  and  one  of  the  most 
positive  and  condemnatory  force. 

We  do  not  in  these  remarks  make  much  account  of  the  Crystal 
Palace  and  its  contents  not  being  ready.  Let  any*  one  enter  the 
premises  and  see  the  apparently  infinite  detail  of  beams,  rafters, 
pillars,  arches,  partitions,  glass,  tints ;  and  add  to  that  the  care, 
trouble,  and  calculation,  to  place  in  their  proper  positions,  and 
under  their  best  phases,  all  the  goods  from  six  thousand  contribu- 
tors, and  the  vulgar  complaint  against  the  place  and  its  treasures 
not  being  ready,  will  be  swallowed  up  in  admiration  of  the  archi- 
tectural and  general  esthetic  splendor  of  the  scene.  Of  its  beauty, 
there  is  but  one  opinion.  Gen.  Pierce,  and  all  those  who  came 
with  him,  seeing  it  for  the  first  time,  were  evidently  thrilled  with 
delight.  No  words  are  too  strong  for  admiration  ;  first,  for  Messrs. 
Carstensen  and  Gildermeister,  the  Architects  of  the  Crystal 
Palace,  and  then  for  Mr.  Sedgwick,  and  the  gentlemen  connected 
with  him,  in  the  elaborate  and  difficult  work  of  supervision.  Un- 
der these  circumstances,  the  triumph  of  the  scene,  so  thorough 
and  so  far  exceeding  expectations,  must  silence  all  reflections  on 
the  delays  as  to  the  time  of  the  Exhibition,  and  the  public  agreed 


THE  OPENING. 


27 


fully  with  the  President,  when  he  would  not  admit  of  the  ex- 
istence of  .shortcomings  as  regarded  the  aspects  of  the  scene. 

Our  objections  lie  in  another  way,  and  we  shall  explain  them. 
We  hold  that  the  Crystal  Palace  is,  if  anything,  the  most  eminent 
tribute  to  Art  and  Industry  that  this  country  and  this  century  can 
pay. 

We  hold. its  Inauguration  should  have  been  the  occasion  for/ 
artists  and  mechanics  to  occupy  the  highest  representative 
seats  on  the  platform  ;  but  both  were  absolutely  ignored  by  the 
Committee  of  Arrangements.  We  saw  fighting  men  in  abundance, 
politicians,  and  place-holders,  but  not  a  single  man  eminent  for  the 
arts  which  the  Crystal  Palace  was  opened  to  celebrate.  At  the 
opening  of  the  Crystal  Palace  of  London,  although  it  was  a  pure- 
ly Norman  exhibition,  clergy,  soldiers,  and  politicians,  occupying 
the  seats  of  honor,  and  the  working-men,  who  built  and  stocked 
the  wonderful  edifice,  were  kept  like  Roman  slave-artists  and 
laborers  in  the  servile  back-ground  of  swinish  caste,  yet  there, 
even  amid  the  shams  of  state,  Mr.  Paxton,  the  genius  who  waked 
it  to  life,  was  on  the  platform.  But  we  would  ask,  where  were 
the  architects  of  our  Palace,  Messrs.  Carstensen  and  Gildermeister  ? 
Why  were  they  not  on  the  platform  ?  What  had  a'ny  military 
personage,  or  the  Reverend  Doctor  this  or  that,  to  do  in  the  face 
of  the  public  in  comparison  with  the  men  who  created  the  edifice 
which  dazzles  and  delights  all  beholders  ?  Yesterday  was  their 
triumph,  and  they  should  have  been  seen  and  heard.  But,  true 
to  the  barbarism  of  this  country,  every  one  overlooked  them  ; 
they  were  not  mentioned  in  terms  ;  they  were  not  greeted  by  the 
President  of  the  United  States  ;  and  if  the  Crystal  Palace  had 
built  itself  there  could  not  have  been  a  more  ignorant,  stupid,  vul- 
gar omission  of  their  names. 

Again  :  of  the  thousand  workmen  who  spent  their  skill  and 
strength,  and  showed  their  courage  in  building  the  dome, — as 
great  as  that  renowned  by  the  capture  of  Mexico, — there  was  not 
one  representative  on  the  stage.  Labor  was  practically  ignored 
and  thrust  aside  for  epaulettes  and  white  cravats, — for  men  who 
had  nothing  particular  to  do  with  the  Palace,  and  have  every  day 
or  week  opportunities  of  appearing  fitly  and  professionally  before 
the  public. 


28 


THE  GREAT  EXHIBITION. 


Again  :  of  all  the  exhibitors,  not  one  was  allowed  to  be  on  the 
platform  sacred  to  clergymen,  soldiers,  and  politicians.  On  the 
contrary,  we  find  among  the  printed  orders  of  the  day  the  follow- 
ing sentence  : — 

"  Exhibitors  will  be  admitted  at  8  o'clock  A.  M.,  and  will  remain  in  their 
respective  courts  during  the  ceremonies." 

Now,  we  are  quite  of  opinion  that  a  delegation,  at  least,  of  these 
exhibitors  should  have  been  on  the  platform.  We  looked  in  vain 
for  such  men  as  McCormick,  who  saved  the  American  Depart- 
ment from  disgrace  in  London,  and  whose  Reaping  Machine  The 
London  Times  pronounced  so  important,  that  if  the  Exhibition 
had  done  nothing  else  but  make  that  invention  known,  it  would 
repay  England  for  all  its  cost.  An  American  who  had  borne  his 
country's  honor  so  loftily  abroad,  might  have  been  a  fit  invited 
guest  on  such  an  occasion  ;  but  neither  he,  nor  any  other  ingenious 
man  like  him,  appeared  on  the  scene. 

But  we  do  not  wish  to  condemn  the  Committee  of  Directors  for 
the  contempt  which  they  displayed  for  artists  and  working-men 
on  the  occasion.  They  merely  chimed  in  with  the  filthy  bar- 
barisms of  society  around  and  about  them.  We  may  say  in  this 
country  that  we  respect  Art,  and  Work,  but  we  do  not  speak  the 
truth.  W'e  do  not  respect  them.  Our  measure  of  honor  is  al- 
most exclusively  political.  Then,  out  of  the  piddling-peddling 
little  wars  that  we  have,  we  contrive  to  manufacture  military 
heroes,  and  so  politics  and  the  sword  carry  the  day.  In  the  pro- 
ceedings we  see  no  exception  to  this  rule.  General  Scott,  who 
appeared  on  the  platform  long  before  the  President,  was  cheered, 
and  very  appropriately  ;  but  no  one  of  the  twenty  thousand 
present  demanded  that  the  men  whose  genius,  art,  industry,  and 
courage  had  called  that  gorgeous  scene  into  life  and  beauty,  should 
present  themselves  and  receive  homage.  No  Artist  was  there. 
No  Mechanic.  No  Laborer.  The  scene  calling  itself  industrial 
was  simply  a  continuation  of  the  dreary  annals  of  humanity — of 
State  Craft,  over-riding  the  majestic  Individualism  of  the  true 
creation,  Man.  We  see  less  and  less  reason  for  paying  respect,  as 
it  is  called,  to  public  functionaries,  when  we  find  that  every  de- 
partment of  Government  which  the  boldness  of  private  enter- 
prise has  snatched  from  the  insolent  hands  of  prescription,  has 


THE  OPENING. 


29 


flourished  truly,  for  the  first  time,  in  private  hands.  The  Crystal 
Palace,  an  evidence  of  pure,  unaided  personal  enterprise,  is  a  case 
in  point.  The  same  thing  in  Europe,  is  made  a  Government 
affair.  Long  slang- whanging  speeches,  "  master-pieces  by  great 
statesmen,"  precede,  accompany,  and  follow  its  creation,  and  its 
completion  is  made  the  reason  for  fresh  loyalty,  and  additional 
self-abasement  on  the  part  of  the  people  toward  their  hereditary 
masters.  Here,  however,  it  is  suggested,  planned,  pursued,  com- 
pleted, and  sustained  by  private  enterprise.  All  that  the  Gov- 
ernment ever  did  for  it  was  to  say  that  it  should  be  considered  as  a 
Bonded  Warehouse,  and  to  write  a  few  letters  to  foreign  countries, 
where  the  sanction  and  cooperation  of  Governments  are  thought 
to  be  a  necessary  thing. 

We  regret  to  speak  thus  ;  but  the  Crystal  Palace  has  signally 
failed  to  crown  Labor  and  Art  in  its  proceedings  of  yesterday. 
Its  ovation  was  to  anything  else  but  the  building  and  its  contents. 
It  was  to  Daniel  Webster,  the  President,  or  whatever  else,  but  not 
to  Labor  and  Art,  represented  and  honored  on  the  platform.  The 
dignity  of  the  creative  functions  of  a  nation's  genius  has  yet  to 
be  truly  recognized.  It  has  not  yet  seen  the  light  in  Europe  nor 
in  this  country.  When  wars  and  preparations  for  wars  shall 
cease  ;  when  the  operations  of  government  shall  be  reduced  to 
their  least  proportions  ;  when  professional  or  technical  combina- 
tions cannot  create  shams  whose  celebrity  is  false,  then  the  true 
era  for  Industrial  Jubilees  may  come,  but  it  has  not  yet  arrived. 
Let  us  hope,  however,  that  even  these  Exhibitions  may  do  much 
to  hasten  its  advent. 

In  the  mere  proprieties  of  the  day,  apart  from  these  objections, 
the  scene  passed  off  well.  The  speeches  had  the  excellence  of 
brevity ;  the  music  was  fine  and  varied,  great  rivalry  evidently 
existing  between  the  different  bands  and  orchestras  ;  the  audience 
was  unexceptionable  in  its  deportment  ;  the  appearance  of  the 
feminine  portion  was  brilliant,  and,  it  must  be  added,  that  the 
directors  liberally  provided  a  ladies'  refreshment-room  ;  the  atten- 
tion of  those  in  authority,  the  new  uniformed  police  included,  was 
unremitting  ;  the  progress  made  in  decorating,  finishing  and 
arraying  the  details  of  the  building  and  its  contents  in  the  few 
last  days,  when  all  seemed  to  promise  disorder  and  defeat  on  the 


80 


THE  GREAT  EXHIBITION". 


promised  day  of  opening,  was  a  veritable  wonder  of  industry  ;  the 
arrangements  of  tickets,  places,-  entrance,  exits,  were  admirable  ; 
the  accommodations  for  the  corps  of  reporters  were  liberal  and 
thoughtful ;  the  positions  of  the  sculptural  attractions  were  well 
chosen  as  to  locality,  light,  and  combined  effect  ;  and,  in  a  word, 
the  whole  was  arranged,  as  to  outward  show,  with  a  skill  that 
was  unsurpassable. 

It  was  a  thing  to  be  seen  once  in  a  life-time.  As  we  grow  in 
wealth  and  strength,  we  may  build  a  much  greater  Crystal 
Palace,  and  accumulate  therein  more  imperial  treasures  than  we 
could  now  afford  to  purchase  ;  but  it  cannot  have  the  ef!ect  of 
this  one.  This  has  been  the  first  love  of  its  kind.  The  second 
cannot  bring  the  exhilaration  and  glory  of  the  first,  though  ex- 
hausting the  wealth  of  Genius  in  its  production.  In  this  we  be- 
hold the  first  decided  stand  of  America  among  the  industrial  and 
artistic  nations  of  the  earth.  In  this  we  see  a  recognition  of  her 
progress,  power,  and  possibilities.  In  this  we  find  a  yearning 
after  Peace — Peace  which  shall  dimple  the  face  of  the  earth 
with  the  smiles  of  plenty,  which  shall  join  the  hearts  of  nations, 
which  shall  abolish  poverty  and  servitude.  God's  earth  loves 
Man  to  her  innermost  depths  ; — treat  her  well  with  Peace,  and 
she  will  reward  him  as  a  generous  mother  ;  abuse  her  with  War, 
and  she  will  drive  him  from  her  presence.  Such  History  has 
proved  ;  but  we  may  fairly  believe  that  the  recorded  vicissitudes 
of  the  past  may  be  avoided  in  travelling  the  placid  and  gen- 
erous path  pointed  out  by  the  Crystal  Palace. — July  15. 


THE  BANQUET. 


SI 


in. 

THE  BANQUET. 

The  opening  of  the  first  American  Exhibition  of  the  Industry 
of  all  Nations,  was  celebrated  in  the  evening  of  the  opening  day 
by  a  superb  entertainment,  given  by  the  Directors  of  the  Exhibi- 
tion to  the  President  of  the  United  States  and  other  distinguished 
personages  who  had  favored  the  ceremonial  by  their  attendance. 
The  Metropolitan  Hotel  was  the  scene  of  this  festival. 

Arrangements  were  made  for  six  hundred  guests,  and  nearly 
that  number  participated  in  the  feast.  Everything  proceeded 
with  regularity  and  good  order  ;  and,  although  the  notice  given 
the  hosts  was  absurdly  brief,  the  whole  affair  was  got  up  in  a 
style  highly  creditable  and  agreeable. 

ARRANGEMENT  OF   THE   GRAND  BANQUETING  HALL. 

This  hall  presented  a  most  splendid  view.  The  walls  were 
covered  with  American  and  other  flags,  under  the  superintend- 
ence of  Mr.  Hayden,  upholsterer  at  the  establishment  of  A.  T. 
Stewart  &  Co.  Over  the  chair  of  the  President  was  a  tent 
formed  of  two  large  American  flags,  handsomely  draped  from  the 
ceiling.  On  the  right,  this  tent  was  supported  by  the  flags  of 
England  and  Russia  ;  on  the  left,  by  those  of  France  and  the 
Netherlands.  Along  the  wall,  on  the  left  side,  were  the  flags  of 
Bohemia,  the  Papal  standard  of  Rome,  the  Republic  of  Peru,  &c. 

The  orchestra-box,  in  which  was  ensconced  Harvey  B.  Dod- 
worth,  with  his  admirable  band,  was  festooned  with  the  flags  of 
Hungary,  Turkey,  and  Prussia,  supported  on  either  side  by  the 
stars  and  stripes.  Next  came  the  royal  standards  of  Portugal 
and  Japan.  The  flags  of  the  German  Confederation  and  Saxony 
occupied  the  lower  end  of  the  hall. 

On  the  right  hand  side  were  the  Italian,  Sardinian,  German, 
Switz,  Danish,  French  and  English  (union  jack)  standards. 


82 


THE  GREAT  EXHIBITION. 


Over  all,  in  the  centre  of  the  room,  was  a  Maltese  Cross, 
formed  of  beautiful  festoons  of  American  flags. 

THE    TABLES  CONFECTIONERY. 

Along  the  head  of  the  room,  on  a  raised  dais,  was  a  splendidly 
furnished  table  for  the  leading  dignitaries  of  the  occasion.  At 
each  end  there  were  tables  for  reporters,  where  accommodations 
of  the  first  order  were  provided — pens,  ink,  paper,  &c. — in  such 
a  manner  as  to  call  for  the  especial  gratitude  of  those  members 
of  the  press  whose  most  tedious  labor  commences  just  when  other 
guests  get  at  the  flood- tide  of  enjoyment.  Such  courtesies  are 
not  too  common,  and  the  Messrs.  Leland  are  entitled  to  our 
warmest  thanks  therefor. 

Down  the  room  ran  four  tables  of  great  length,  furnished  in 
capital  style.  The  confectionery,  or  fancy  sugar- work,  was  very 
fine.  Before  the  President  sat  a  capital  representation  of  the 
Crystal  Palace,  surmounting  a  parti-colored  pyramid  of  fruit.  On 
his  left  was  an  exceedingly  fine  piece,  made  of  flags  of  all  nations, 
surmounted  by  a  figure  of  Liberty,  holding  her  cap  and  staff.  On 
the  right  was  a  Grecian  temple,  with  a  figure  of  "Washington, 
holding  the  Declaration  of  Independence  and  a  sword.  On  the 
other  tables  various  fancy  pieces,  of  appropriate  character,  such 
as  Gothic  temples,  arches,  &c.  ;  pyramids,  a  bird  cage,  and  other 
articles. 

The  coup  (Vozil  of  the  room  was  very  fine,  and  called  forth 
many  commendations  for  the  excellent  taste  by  which  it  had 
been  created. 

No  less  than  a  hundred  and  fifty  waiters  were  employed  to 
attend  to  the  guests,  being  one  to  every  four. 

ASSEMBLING  OF  THE  GUESTS. 

The  hour  for  the  dinner  was  six  o'clock.  The  guests,  however, 
were,  as  usual,  an  hour  behindhand.  By  half-past  seven  o'clock, 
the  seats  were  filled,  and  the  gastronomical  exercises  commenced. 

Among  the  distinguished  guests,  we  noticed  : 


THE  BANQUET. 


83 


THE  PRESIDENT  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

The  Secretary  of  the  Treasury. 
The  Secretary  of  War. 
The  Attorney  General. 
The  Governor  cf  the  State  of  New  York. 
The  Governor  of  the  State  of  Georgia. 
The  Sardinian*  Charge  des  Affaires. 
The  Prussian  Minister. 
The  French  Minister. 
Senator  Chase,  of  Ohio. 
Sir  Charles  Lyell,  English  Commission. 

Chancellor  Walworth. 
Chief  Justice  Oakley.       Judge  Edmonds. 
Recorder  Tillou.        Ex-Mayor  Kingsland. 
Abm.  Hillyer,  U.  S.  Marshal.       Gen.  James  Tallmadge. 
Rev.  Dr.  Gardner  Spring.       Rev.  Dr.  Knox. 
Hon.  Mr.  Edgerton.    Hon.  Ogden  Hoffman.    Dr.  J.  W.  Francis. 
Col.  J.  W.  Forney,  Clerk  House  of  Representatives. 
W.  W.  Corcoran,  of  Washington.       E.  K.  Collins,  of  New  York. 
Com.  Shubrick,  U.  S.  Navy  Maj.  Gen.  Wool,  U.  S.  Army. 

Col.  Walker,  U.  S.  Army.  Maj.  Sprague,  U.  S.  Army. 

Gen.  J.  A.  Thomas,  Engineer.  Gen.  E.  Ward,  N.  Y.  Militia. 

Major  General  Sandford,  First  Division  N.  Y.  State  Militia. 
Col.  J  P  Mumford,  N.  Y.  S.  M.    Col.  E.  Corning,  Jr.,  N.  Y.  S.  M. 
Col.  H.  S.  Lainsing,  N.  Y.  S.  M.    Lieut.  Col.  Chas.  E.  Sandford,  N.  Y.  S.  M. 
Maj.  E.  Schenck,  N.  Y.  S.  M.  ■  And  a  large  number  of  other  notabilities 
whose  names  we  did  not  get. 

THE  DINNER. 

The  guests  having  assembled,  a  blessing  was  invoked  by  Rev. 
Dr.  Spring  and  then  a  very  dainty  Bill  of  Fare  was  carefully  dis- 
cussed. This  being  of  greater  interest  to  partakers  than  to  readers, 
we  spare  the  latter  a  recapitulation.  Suffice  it  that  the  dinner 
was  very  good, .well  cooked,  well  eaten,  and  seemed  to  give  general 
satisfaction.    The  truite  was  especially  commended. 

TOASTS  AND  SPEECHES. 

Dinner  being  over,  the  toasts  and  speeches  came  in  their  order 
as  follows  : — 

Theodore  Sedgwick,  Esq.,  President  of  the  Association,  and 
officiating  Chairman  at  the  Dinner,  gave  the  first  regular  toast, 
which  he  prefaced  substantially  as  follows  : — 

In  rising  to  propose  the  first  toast  of  the  evening,  and  after  reverting  ttf* 
the  obligations  conferred  on  them  by  many  assembled  in  carrying  out  the 

2* 


34  THE  GREAT  EXHIBITION. 

great  enterprise  in  which  they  had  engaged,  remarked  more  particularly  the 
assistance  received  from  the  press  of  the  United  States,  to  whom  they  were 
under  the  deepest  obligations— but  to  preface  the  introduction  of  any  toast 
individually  would  be  impossible,  but  if  they  were  to  select  any  one,  it  ought 
to  be  those  gentlemen  who  came  from  the  other  side  of  the  water,  and  who, 
after  all  the  annovances  they  had  been  subjected  to,  had  materially  assisted 
them  in  reaching  the  point  to  which  they  had  already  gained.  It  had  been 
often  said  that  the  feeling  of  loyalty  finds  no  proper  response  on  this  side  of 
the  water,  but  looked  at  in  its  proper  sense,  it  was  one  of  the  deepest  im- 
planted feelings  in  the  human  heart.  The  soldier  is  loyal  to  his  flag — the 
true-hearted  lover  to  his  mistress-^and  if  the  Englishman  is  loyal  to  his 
Queen,  the  American  is  at  all  times  loyal  to  the  Union.  You  have  here  to- 
night the  head  of  that  Union, — [loud  and  repeated  applause.] — and  in  pro- 
posing to  you  "  The  President  of  the  United  States,''  I  would  add  the  Anglo- 
Saxon  expression,  also,  and  "  God  bless  him."  [Nine  cheers.] 
By  the  Band — Air,  "  Hail,  Columbia." 

The  President  then  rose  and  spoke  as  follows  : — 

Mr.  President  and  Gentlemen:  In  responding  to  the  sentiment  you  have 
pronounced,  my  own  thoughts,  I  confess,  dwell  upon  a  circumstance  which 
mars  and,  so  far  as  I  know,  the  only  circumstance  that  does  mar,  the  festivi- 
ties of  this  joyous  occasion.  I  allude  to  the  illness  and  absence  of  Lord 
Ellesmere.  Gratified  as  we  are  all  that  he  came,  how  much  has  that  grati- 
fication been  enhanced  by  the  fact  that  he  came  not  alone,  but  that  his  family 
graced  and  honored  the  Inauguration  of  your  Exhibition  by  their  presence 
yesterday.  I  am  sure  I  should  hardly  be  excused  if  I  were  to  fail  here  to 
refer  to  a  gentleman  who  has  paid  to  our  country  and  countrymen  many 
pleasant  compliments — more,  I  have  sometimes  thought,  than  we  deserved — 
a  gentleman  who,  if  his  reputation  depended  merely  upon  the  cultivation  of 
science,  would  stand  at  the  head  of  the  men  of  science  ;  but  his  fame  rests 
upon  a  broader  and  ampler  basis — upon  this  :  that  he  has  himself  contribu- 
ted largely  to  the  sum  of  useful  human  knowledge.  You  cannot  mistake 
me,  sir  ;  I  refer  to  Sir  Charles  Lyell.  [Loud  cheers.]  His  country  and  ours 
are  now  within  eleven  days,  is  it  ?  No,  nine  days  of  each  other — [A  voice — 
Ten  days.] — by  steamers. 

As  an  illustration  of  what  this  Exhibition  was  likely  to  do,  I  was  very 
much  impressed  by  what  Sir  Charles  Lyell  himself  told  me,  that  an  eminent 
inventor  and  machinist  discovered,  upon  visiting  the  work-shops  of  Lowell, 
that  while  they  accomplished  in  the  working  of  iron  in  one  hour  what  it 
takes  us  five  to  perform,  yet  in  the  cutting  of  wood,  the  advantage  is  just 
as  great  in  favor  of  our  machinery.  While  we  return  our  grateful  acknow- 
ledgments to  all  the  governments  and  nations  here  represented,  I  am  sure 
that  all  the  gentlemen  here  assembled  will  unite  with  me  in  the  expression 
of  the  hope  that  the  only  rivalry  which  may  ever  spring  up  between  them 


THE  BANQUET. 


35 


and  us  shall  be  the  rivalry  of  earnest,  determined,  steady  effort  to  promote 
the  elevation  of  the  race,  and  peace  and  good  neighborhood  among  nations 
and  men. 

The  President  sat  down  amid  a  perfect  storm  of  cheers. 
Mr.  Sedgwick  then  remarked  : —  - 

We  must  not  forget  that  the  President  is  not  here  alone.    Other  gentle- 
men have  accompanied  and  assisted  him  in  his  arduous  journey,  and  have 
done  us  the  honor  to  be  present  here  to-night.    I  propose,  gentlemen, 
The  Secretary  of  the  Treasury — James  Guthrie,  Esq.  [Cheers.] 

Mr.  Guthrie  replied  : — 

Though  a  public  speaker,  he  had  never  been  so  much  abashed.  He  came 
to  see  the  Opening  of  the  Exhibition  of  the  Industry  of  all  Nations,  this 
commendation  of  all  Art,  this  toleration  of  all  religion,  this  extension  of 
commerce,  this  meeting  and  agreement  of  all  arts  and  sciences.  He  had 
little  to  say,  nothing  to  offer,  except  the  examples  of  his  countrymen  in  arts, 
and  in  agriculture.  They  had  felled  the  forests,  and  made  in  their  place 
cultivated  fields ;  they  have  added  state  after  state  to  our  glorious  Union, 
until  the  bright  galaxy  of  stars  now  numbers  thirty -one.  Seventy  years  ago 
the  city  where  we  now  are  was  a  mile  and  a  half  long,  and  half  a  mile  broad, 
and  contained  twenty-one  thousand  inhabitants  :  now  it  is  more  than  five 
miles  long,  and  two  wide,  with  a  population  of  six  hundred  thousand.  Then, 
there  were  only  wooden  houses,  of  one  and  two  stories — now  it  is  a  city  of 
princely  palaces.  Her  commerce  whitens  every  sea,  and  she  draws  to  her- 
self the  rich  products  of  every  clime.  By  her  Railroads  and  Canals  she  has 
given  the  farmers  of  the  western  wilderness  the  world  for  a  market.  She 
now  offers  the  Crystal  Palace,  wherein  are  the  evidences  of  her  Art  and  In- 
dustry, and  invites  her  sister  states  and  all  the  nations  of  the  earth  to  come 
here  and  join  in  the  Exhibition.  She  has  won  her  wealth  and  renown  by 
the  arts  of  peace,  and  while  peace  exists,  New  York  and  her  example  will 
extend,  until  other  cities  emulate  her  independence  and  enterprise — that  en- 
terprise, industry,  and  integrity,  which,  guided  by  her  merchants,  have  made 
her  preeminent.  .  [Cheers.]  Mr.  G.  expressed  his  thanks  for  the  compli- 
mentary toast,  and  sat  down. 

[During  this  speech  the  President  left  the  room  with  Gen.  Wool, 
and  his  Secretary,  Mr.  P.  S.  "Webster.  The  party  immediately 
proceeded  to  the  Opera  at  Castle  Garden.] 

Mr.  Sedgwick  then  gave,  after  some  complimentary  remarks 
upon  his  course  in  the  Mexican  War, 

The  Health  of  the  Secretary  of  War — Jefferson  Davis.    [Loud  Cheers.] 
Mr.  Davis  responded  : — 

He  spoke  in  eulogy  of  the  National  Flag,  under  which  his  father  and 
himself  had  fought,  and  went  on  to  show  that  war  and  its  accoutrements 


S6 


THE  GREAT  EXHIBITION. 


were  not  out  of  place  on  such  an  occasion.  War  was  a  school  of  reality, 
that  taught  the  value  of  peace.  He  then  went  on  with  an  out  and  out  Free 
Trade  speech,  and  concluded  that,  by  throwing  open  the  ports  of  all  the  world, 
perpetual  peace  would  be  secured.  He  thought  we  should  declare,  that 
what  could  be  bought  more  cheaply  in  another  country  should  be  bought 
there.  Free  Trade  was  the  rising  sun  which  was  to  illumine  the  globe. 
Thence  he  proceeded  to  speak  of  the  Pacific  Railroad,  which  he  thought 
to  be  the  problem  of  the  age,  which  we  were  to  solve. 

Mr.  Sedgwick  then  gave  as  a  toast : — 

The  Health  of  Gen.  Gushing — Attorney-General  of  the  United  States. 
Mr.  Cushing  made  a  brief  reply  : — 

"  Peace  hath  its  victories,  no  less  renowned  than  war,"  said  he  ;  this  Temple 
you  have  reared  to  a  divinity  unknown  to  ancient  mythology — a  Temple  to 
Industry  and  Art.  He  admired  the  triumphs  of  Peace,  yet  held  to  the 
necessity  of  force.  True,  there  was  sometimes  force  in  reason,  but  there 
was  always  reason  in  force. 

Mr.  Sedgwick,  then,  by  what  he  called  a  coup  d'etat,  reversed 
the  order  of  the  toasts,  and,  after  speaking  highly  of  the  character 
and  power  of  the  Press,  gave  the  fifteenth  toast : — 

The  Press  : 

He  called  upon  Mr.  Eaymond  of  The  Times. 

Mr.  Raymond,  in  rising  to  reply,  said  that,  while  he  had  never  regarded 
with  the  slightest  favor  coups  d'etat  of  any  sort,  he  felt  bound  to  say  that 
the  one  which  our  President  has  effected  on  this  occasion,  contradicted  all 
his  notions  of  propriety  more  distinctly  than  any  other  he  had  ever  known. 
The  military  gentlemen  present  would  bear  him  witness,  that  bringing  the 
rear  of  an  organized  force  into  the  front,  in  the  midst  of  an  engagement, 
was  such  an  utter  breach  of  all  rules,  that  it  deserved  to  be  taken  notice  of 
in  higher  quarters  than  he  could  pretend  to  represent  on  this  occasion. 
[A  laugh.]  Mr.  Raymond  said  he  was  sure  he  did  not  know  for  what  the 
President  had  felt  it  his  duty  to  apologize  on  this  occasion,  nor  what  it  was 
that  he  had  explained.  But  certainly,  after  the  very  handsome  manner  in 
which  it  had  been  treated,  he  felt  quite  safe  in  considering  it  as  being  now, 
at  all  events,  all  right,  and  in  dismissing  all  notice  of  it  accordingly.  I  feel 
quite  certain,  he  added,  that  I  shall  have  the  assent  of  that  great,  laborious, 
and,  I  may  venture  to  add,  influential  profession  to  which  I  belong,  in 
returning  their  cordial  thanks  for  the  complimentary  terms  in  which  their 
services  had  been  acknowledged,  on  behalf,  of  that  Great  Industrial  Exhibi- 
tion of  which  you,  sir,  are  the  official  head,  and  the  preparation  of  which 
you  have  now  brought  to  so  noble  a  termination.  [Cheers.]  It  is  the  spe- 
cial duty  of  the  Press  to  spread  intelligence  of  important  facts  before  the 
public,  and  to  accompany  them  by  such  comments  as  truth  will  sanction  and 


THE  BANQUET. 


the  public  good  requires.  [Cheers.]  And  I  cannot  but  feel  that  the  highest 
compliment  which  can  be  made  to  the  power  of  the  Press,  and  the  general 
beneficence  with  which  that  powTer  is  exercised,  is  to  be  found  in  the  fact, 
that  it  is  the  first  source  of  influence  at  which  ambition  always  strikes  in  its 
march  to  arbitrary  sway.  [Cheers.]  Whenever  any  usurper,  on  either 
Continent,  seeks  to  subvert  Constitutions,  abolish  laws,  destroy  public  liberty, 
and  make  his  own  will  the  sovereign  public  law,  the  first  thing  he  does  is  to 
crush  the  Press.  In  that  fact  alone,  sir,  I  find  a  grateful  and  an  emphatic 
tribute  to  the  influence  of  the  public  Press.  [Cheers.]  And  not  less  highly 
do  I  appreciate  the  fact,  that  on  such  an  occasion  as  the  present,  when  the 
industry  of  all  the  nations  of  the  earth  is  represented  here,  the  services  of 
the  Press,  in  the  promotion  of  the  great  ends  for  which  this  Association  has 
been  formed,  should  be  so  cordially  acknowledged  by  the  able  and  intelli- 
gent gentleman  at.  the  head  of  that  great  movement.  [Cheers.]  I  cannot 
say,  sir,  that  I  felt  specially  flattered  by  his  remark,  however  kindly  in- 
tended, that  on  this  occasion  there  had  been  no  attempt  on  the  part  of  the 
Press  to  levy  "  black  mail "  for  services  rendered  to  this  great  work.  I  am 
sure,  however,  tbat  he  did  not  design  that  his  remark  should  suggest  anv 
inference  which  its  language  would  not  warrant —  and  that  he  would 
freely  say  that  he  had  never  known  any  instance,  or  any  occasion,  in  which 
any  respectable  portion  of  the  American  or  of  any  other  Press,  had  ever 
demanded  payment  for  the  statement  of  important  facts,  or  for  advocating 
great  measures  demanded  by  the  public  good.  [Cheers.]  I  had  hoped, 
Mr.  President,  (said  Mr.  R.)  that  the  original  design  would  have  been  carried 
out,  and  that  the  duty  of  responding  to  this  toast  would  have  been  dis- 
charged by  a  gentleman  of  whose  former  connection  with  the  Press  all  its 
present  members  were  justly  proud,  and  who  now  fills  an  important  post  at 
the  head  of  one  of  the  principal  literary  institutions  of  the  land.  I  feel 
ashamed  that  so  honorable  a  task  should  have  been  so  suddenly  and  unex- 
pectedly cast  upon  one  so  unable  as  myself  to  perform  it  aright ;  and  I  can 
only  ask  the  indulgence  of  the  company,  and  especially  of  the  Press,  for  the 
imperfect  manner  in  which  it  has  been  discharged.  [Cheers.] 

Returning  to  the  second  toast,  the  Chairman  gave  : 

The  Senate  of  the  United  States. 

Hon.  S.  P.  Chase,  Senator  from  Ohio,  replied  very  briefly.  He 
thought  the  acts  of  the  Senate  might  speak  for  the  Senate.  He 
gave  : 

The  Legations  of  Foreign  Governments  near  the  Government  of  the  United 
States — Representatives  of  the  ties  by  which  the  States  of  the  Union  are 
linked  in  amity  with  the  nations  of  the  earth. 

Baron  Gerold,  the  Prussian  Minister,  responded  very  briefly, 
but  we  could  not  hear  a  word  that  he  said. 
In  response  to  the  third  toast  : 


38 


THE  GREAT  EXHIBITION. 


The  Governments  of  Foreign  Nations — which  have  contributed  to  our 
Exhibition — 

M.  Sartiges,  Minister  from  France,  made  a  reply  in  the  fol- 
lowing words  : 

Sir, — My  colleagues  here  present  have  requested  me  to  be  the  interpreter 
of  our  common  thanks  for  the  toast  and  friendly  sentiments  expressed  in 
honor  of  our  respective  Sovereigns  and  Governments.  And  now,  sir,  I  have 
a  kind  of  personal  ardor  to  tend  you  relative  to  the  French  Commissioner, 
whose  mention  had  been  made  yesterday  by  the  eloquent  speaker  who  had 
the  honor  to  welcome  his  Excellency  the  President  to  the  Crystal  Palace. 
Having,  six  weeks  ago,  had  occasion  to  visit  the  ground  of  the  Crystal 
Palace,  and  having  been  brought  to  the  conclusion  that  the  intended  building 
would  not  be  in  order  before  the  end  of  August,  I  have  communicated  to 
Paris  my  impression,  which,  perhaps,  may  have  produced  some  modification 
in  the  first  intended  arrangement. 

I  think  I  had  not  sufficiently  accounted  for  the  marvellous  rapidity  with 
which  everything  is  accomplished  in  your  country.  I  will  take  care,  in 
future,  to  include  in  my  calculation  of  probability  this  element  of  rapidity. 
Well,  I  ask  you  to  consider  me,  in  your  high  or  friendly  re-union  of  to-day, 
as  representing  more  specially  commercial  France.  I  am  as  proud  to  re- 
present commercial  as  political  France,  now  that  through  the  entire  world, 
to  the  old  adage — "  If  you  wish  for  peace,  prepare  for  war,"  this  one  may 
be  substituted  :  "  If  you  wish  for  peace,  multiply  your  '  commercial  rela- 
tions'  " — indeed,  the  Congress  the  most  universally  interesting,  is  the  Con- 
gress of  Commerce,  the  exhibitions  of  universal  industry.  In  assuming 
boldly  the  initiative  of  an  enterprise  whose  theme  was  certainly  grand,  but 
whose  success,  undoubtful  to-day,  was  not  so  at  first,  the  gentlemen  Directors 
of  the  Association  for  the  erection  of  the  IsTew  York  Crystal  Palace  have 
rendered  a  service  not  only  to  their  own  country,  but  to  the  commercial  and 
political  world.  They  must  be  proud  of  their  success,  and  they  have  a 
right  to  unanimous  applauses.  I  beg  leave  to  offer  them  mine,  in  which 
the  French  commerce  will  thank  me  to  include  his  own.  I  will,  therefore, 
conclude  by  proposing,  on  behalf  of  my  diplomatic  colleagues  here  present' 

The  Health  of  the  President  and  Directors  of  the  Crystal  Palace  Asso- 
ciation. 

The  fourth  regular  toast  was  then  given  : 

Prince  Albert — The  originator  of  the  great  Industrial  Exhibition  of  1851. 

Responded  to  by  Mr.  Hamilton,  one  of  the  Commissioners  to 
the  London  Exhibition  ;  but,  as  he  was  unfortunately  at  the  far 
end  of  the  room,  we  were  unable  to  catch  his  remarks. 

The  fifth  toast  : 

Tlie  Foreign  Commissioners,  who  have  honored  us  this  day  with  their 
presence — 


THE  BANQUET. 


30 


Was  received  with  loud  applause,  and  responded  to  by  Sir 
Charles  Lyell.  After  alluding  to  the  lamented  absence  of  the 
Earl  of  Ellesmcre,  who,  notwithstanding  his  indisposition,  had 
pressed  on  his  journey  from  Canada,  in  the  hope  of  being  present, 
proceeded  to  say  how  gratified  the  noble  Earl  would  have  been, 
could  he  have  participated  in  their  festivities,  but  fate  willed 
otherwise.  He,  (Sir  Charles  Lyell)  however,  was  commissioned 
by  his  noble  friend  to  say,  that  in  his  travels  through  some  parts 
of  this  country,  he  had  been  received  with  the  most  cordial  (yet 
unobtrusive)  hospitality  ever  extended  to  him.  The  President  of 
the  United  States  had  spoken  of  him  (Sir  Charles  Lyell)  in 
terms  of  no  measured  eulogy.  He  received  them  gratefully  in- 
deed, as  intended  at  least  to  convey  his  kind  feelings  toward  him 
for  the  little  part  he  had  taken,  whether  in  the  advancement  of 
science  or  in  making  Americans  and  American  .  genius  and  skill 
known  to  his  own  countrymen.  His  friend,  Mr.  Whit  worth,  in 
his  travels  through  many  parts  of  the  manufacturing  districts  of 
this  country,  had  been  struck  more  by  the  labor-saving  inventions 
and  the  beautiful  machinery  than  by  its  soil,  and  to  which  they 
must  ascribe  the  great  wealth  which  it  had  already  exhibited  ; 
and  he  trusted  that  this  Exhibition  would  be  the  means  of  sooner 
making  known  those  inventions  and  improvements  which  it  was 
most  desirable  his  countrymen  should  become  familiar  with. 

The  next  toast,  (the  sixth)  : 

The  Governor  of  the  State  of  New  York, 

was  responded  to  by  Hon.  Howell  Cobb,  Governor  of  Georgia, 
who  expressed  the  hope  that  the  result  of  this  Exhibition  would 
not  only  encourage,  but  increase  the  paternal  intercourse  of  this 
government  with  the  government  of  the  whole  world,  and  give  a 
stimulant  to  industry,  the  arts,  and  sciences,  and  thus  promote 
the  best  interests  of  the  whole  human  race.  The  Hon.  gentle- 
man resumed  his  seat  amid  enthusiastic  cheers. 

The  seventh  and  eighth  toasts  were  united — while  the  ninth, 
"  The  Fraternity  of  Nations? 

was  ably  responded  to  by  Dr.  Francis,  who,  in  his  concluding 
observations,  reminded  the  gentlemen  present,  and,  more  espe- 
cially Sir  C.  Lyell,  that  in  the  city  of  New  York,  where  Shake- 


40 


THE  GREAT  EXHIBITION. 


speare's  works  were  first  interpreted  and  used  for  the  grammatical 
instruction  of  youth,  Lyell's  works  were  freely  used  to  instruct 
them  in  geology.     [Loud  laughter.] 

The  tenth  regular  toast, 

The  City  of  New  York, 
was  responded  to  by  Chancellor  Walworth,  but  we  were  quite 
unable  to  glean  a  stray  passage  from  anything  he  said. 

The  eleventh  toast, 

The  Arts  of  Peace  > 
brought  up  Ogden  Hoffman,  Esq.,  who,  after  complaining  of  in- 
disposition, proceeded  to  say  : 

What  are  the  Arts  of  Peace  but  those  that  man's  own  skill,  his  own 
genius,  has  lifted  up  ?  We  live  in  times  now  when  men  are  not  torn  by 
conscription  from  the  plow-tail,  the  student  from  his  studio,  the  painter  from 
his  easel,  or  the  sculptor  from  his  statuary,  to  swell  the  army  to  invade  some 
foreign  land,  or  it  may  be,  to  defend  our  own — no ;  the  Arts  of  Peace  are 
those  which  repose  in  the  hour  of  man's  rest,  not  those  which  nourish  under 
wronged  humanity.  ~No,  sir ;  they  are  the  elements  of  humanity,  which  teach 
men  that  dependence  on  one  another  alone  can  secure  prosperity,  happiness, 
and  comfort.  To  create  this — to  ennoble  the  feelings  of  our  common  nature, 
this  association  was  formed,  and  invitations  extended  to  people  of  other 
climes  to  offer  their  productions.  This  was  not  done  for  the  purpose  of  exciting 
feelings  of  rivalry,  but  to  teach  us  our  own  deficiency.  This  Society  was  not 
the  creation  of  any  Government — no  man  in  authority  stood  sponsor  for  it, 
but  it  was  the  offspring  alone  of  the  enterprise  and  skill  of  a  few  noble  crea- 
tures, and  brought  into  existence  to  redeem  a  promise  made  to  this  com- 
munity. 

There  were  several  more  toasts,  and  further  speaking ;  but  our 
object  is  not  to  embalm  all  that  was  said,  but  merely  to  give  a 
fair  idea  of  the  spirit  and  drift  of  this  festival.  It  faded  out  some 
time  after  midnight,  leaving  a  grateful  quiet  behind  it. 


STRICTURES  ON  THE  BANQUET. 


41 


IV. 

STRICTURES   ON  THE  BANQUET. 

The  great  Dinner  was  given  last  evening  by  the  Directors  of 
the  Crystal  Palace  to  the  President  of  the  United  States,  and  the 
Commissioners  to  the  Exhibition.  Messrs.  Leland  prepared  it 
in  splendid  style,  and  it  was  spread  in  Niblo's  Saloon,  adjoining 
the  Metropolitan  Hotel. 

The  President,  his  Cabinet  and  suite,  and  the  other  invited 
guests,  entered  the  room  between  six  and  seven  o'clock,  Dodworth's 
Band  playing  the  National  Hymn.  Mr.  Theodore  Sedgwick,  head 
of  the  Committee,  presided  on  the  occasion.  There  were  fifteen 
regular  toasts.  If  all  the  speeches  had  been  as  short  as  Mr.  Pierce's, 
the  Dinner  would  have  been  of  reasonable  length,  but  as  the  elo- 
quence was  profuse,  and  not  a  little  of  it  of  the  stump-political 
order,  as  to  topics — there  being  much  of  the  Union,  of  Free  Trade, 
and  little  of  arts  or  aesthetics — it  lasted  till  half-past  twelve. 
Some  of  the  speaking  was  good,  some  bad,  some  indifferent.  Gen. 
Davis  treated  us  to  a  Free  Trade  harangue,  forgetting  that  the 
reason  why  we  have  anything  to  show  at  the  Exhibition  is  owing 
to  Protection. 

The  Press  was  put  down  as  the  last  toast,  No.  15,  in  the 
list  printed  and  placed  on  the  table.  Mr.  Theodore  Sedgwick, 
who  is  evidently  a  man  of  tact,  expressed  his  regret  that  such  a 
blunder  should  have  been  committed — that  he  thought  he  was 
right  in  rating  the  Press  as  he  had,  but  that  he  found  out  it  was 
an  error.  As  Mr.  Sedgwick  made  the  amende  honorable  very 
handsomely,  we  have  nothing  to  say,  except  if  we  find  the  Press 
snubbed  in  future  at  dinners,  we  shall  treat  the  delinquents  as  they 
deserve.  The  time  has  gone  by,  when  the  business  of  the  Press 
was  to  swell  small  men  into  great,  and  then  take  their  dirty  leav- 
ings at  public  feasts.    The  Press,  according  to  the  change  in  the 


4-2 


THE  GREAT  EXHIBITION. 


Programme,  was  given  about  No.  4  of  the  list,  and  Mr.  Eaymond, 
of  The  Times,  responded  to  it  in  a  fluent  and  elegant  manner. 

We  sat  close  by  the  two  most  eminent  men  in  the  room,  the 
occasion  considered.  We  mean  Messrs.  Carstensen  and  Gilder- 
meister,  the  Architects  of  the  Crystal  Palace — the  men  whose 
genius  planned,  and  supervised  it  from  floor  to  dome.  As  nearly 
everything  under  heaven  was  introduced  into  the  political  ha- 
rangues of  the  evening,  we  thought  that  by  some  stray  chance  the 
names  of  these  eminent  and  splendid  artists  might  be  mentioned, 
but  no  more  notice  was  taken  of  them  than  if  they  had  been  two 
hod-carriers.  The  reason  was,  they  were  neither  Generals,  Colo- 
nels, Captains,  Lieutenants,  Judges,  Congressmen,  Office-hunters, 
or  Q,uacks — but  simply  creative  Artists. 

Such  is  the  taste  and  enlightenment  of  New  York  in  the  nine- 
teenth century  !  We  have  heard  of  the  play  of  Hamlet,  with  the 
part  of  Hamlet  omitted  :  it  was  paralleled  last  night. 

The  venerable  Dr.  Francis  gave  us  a  good,  cordial  historical 
tribute  to  New  York.  Ogden  Hoflman  spoke  brilliantly  to  the 
toast  on  the  Arts  of  Peace.  Lord  Ellesmere  was  not  present,  but 
Sir  Charles  Lyell  made  an  address  in  his  absence,  full  of  genuine 
pith.  Mr.  Morton  McMichael  responded  on  the  part  of  the  Com- 
missioners from  the  states.  There  were  much  international  courtesy 
and  comity  displayed.  Mr.  Theodore  Sedgwick  showed  unsurpass- 
ed ability  in  prefacing  all  the  toasts  with  appropriate  remarks. 
The  company  numbered  some  five  or  six  hundred. 

The  room  was  very  elegantly  decorated  with  flags  ;  on  the  table 
was  every  conceivable  dainty  ;  the  judicious  orchestral  and  mili- 
tary music  of  Dodworth  aided  digestion,  and  ladies  in  limited  num- 
bers looked  on  the  scene,  which  was  very  gay. — July  15. 

HONOR  TO  ART  AND  INDUSTRY. 

We  have  received  various  communications,  and  read  numerous 
notices  in  the  Press,  approving  of  our  remarks  of  Friday,  included 
in  the  description  of  the  opening  of  the  Crystal  Palace.  The 
subject,  indeed,  which  we  touched  upon,  namely,  the  igno- 
rance, vulgarity,  stupidity,  and  barbarism  which  overlooked 
Labor  and  Art  on  the  occasion,  and  gave  all  the  places  of  honor 
on  the  platform  to  clergymen,  soldiers,  politicians,  and  shams,  is 


STRICTURES  ON  THE  BANQUET. 


43 


one  of  such  solemn  import,  that  we  may  be  permitted,  under  the 
extended  notice  which  our  remarks  have  received  in  public  and 
private,  to  dwell  on  the  subject  again. 

"We  may  as  well  confess  the  truth,  that  we  do  not  live  in  a  civili- 
zed country.  The  mere  possession  of  edifices,  grand  and  diminu- 
tive, public  and  private,  and  the  production  of  articles  of  food  and 
raiment,  do  not  constitute  civilization.  The  Romans,  who  had 
white  slave-artists,  men  of  genius  or  talent,  were  also  civilized  in 
the  same  sense.  They  could  build  a  matchless  Coliseum — still 
standing — a  wonder  of  strength  and  design — but  they  also  could 
make  it  the  arena  of  gladiatorial  combat,  designedly  ferocious  and 
tragic.  In  this  country,  also,  we  have  yet  to  see  Labor  and 
Art  rewarded — we  have  yet  to  see  an  intelligent  Mechanic, 
or  Artist,  as  such,  elevated  to  eminent  office,  though  if  his 
blows  and  strength  had  been  devoted  to  battering  down  ensan- 
guined walls,  and  he  had  a  chivalric  title,  he  might  have  been 
selected,  other  things  equal.  "We  constantly  hear  it  quoted  that 
Franklin  was  advanced  because  he  was  a  Mechanic.  It  is  a 
falsehood.  He  was  advanced  because  he  became  first,  Editor, 
then  Postmaster,  or  professional  politician  ;  and  this  and  the  sword, 
are  almost  the  only  road  to  advancement  known  in  this  country. 

Our  public  festivals  are  countless.  On  all  national  jubilee-days 
they  spring  up  by  tens  of  hundreds  over  the  land.  They  are 
made  the  occasion  of  national  glorifications,  or  in  other  words, 
things  and  persons  are  supposed  to  be  dwelt  upon  in  toasts  and 
speeches,  which  are  honorable  to  the  country,  and  enable  it  to 
hold  its  head  up  among  others  of  the  earth.  But  we  record  as  a 
dismal  fact,  which  taken  singly  would  place  America  among  bar- 
barous nations,  that  never,  never  on  these  occasions  has  any  man 
been  signalized,  individuated,  honored,  or  elevated  by  notice  in 
toasts  or  speeches,  who  was  .  not  connected  with  politics,  either 
civil  or  military.  We  challenge  proof  of  any  such  official  notice 
being  taken  of  Rumsey,  Fitch,  Evans,  Fulton,  Whitney,  Morse, 
McCormick,  Ericsson,  Allston,  Sully,  Inman,  Hicks,  Powell,  Pow- 
ers, Greenough,  Bryant,  Willis,  Irving,  Anthon,  Dr.  Thomas  Jones, 
Sears  Walker,  Silliman,  Hare,  Wells,  Haviland,  Strickland,  Ren- 
wick,  William  Norris,  David  Dale  Owen,  Franklin  Bache,  Ralph 
Waldo  Emmerson,  H.  C.  Ca*ey,  or  any  other  of  the  historical 


44 


THE  GREAT  EXHIBITION. 


names  of  the  country — names  which  will  live  when  the  work  of 
political  shams  will  be  reduced  to  their  least  elements,  when  Army 
and  Navy  shall  be  abolished,  when  the  Mint  shall  be  in  private 
hands,  when  the  Post-Office  shall  also  be  so  directed,  when  For- 
eign Missions  shall  be  done  away,  when  the  dignity  of  the  citizen 
shall  be  truly  eliminated  from  the  huge  load  of  ancient  and  me- 
diaeval oppression,  form,  and  falsehood,  and  individualism  assert 
its  proper  claims  to  notice,  profit,  and  honor. 

This  fact  of  political  function  over-riding  and  stifling  worth, 
work,  and  genius,  upon  all  occasions  of  a  public  or  national  cha- 
racter, was  simply  carried  out  in  full  deformity  at  the  opening  of 
the  Crystal  Palace  ;  and,  in  order  that  the  barbarism  of  that  occa- 
sion might  not  be  contrasted  with  its  opposite,  at  the  public  ban- 
quet at  JNTiblo's  Saloon,  on  the  day  following,  the  same  ignoring 
of  all  names  and  persons  not  political  was  repeated. 

Let  us  consider  the  real  condition  and  philosophy  of  the  occa- 
sion : — 

In  presence  of  twice  ten  thousand  spectators,  of  Commissioners 
from  Europe  and  America,  of  the  Chief  Public  Servant  of  the 
Republic,- of  a  corps  of  journal-reporters  taking  down  notes  to  be 
reproduced  within  a  few  days  in  thousands  of  newspapers  at 
home  and  hundreds  abroad,  the  ceremonies  of  the  inauguration 
took  place.  There  soared  above  them  the  vast  dome  :  there 
loomed  around  them  the  great  structure,  covering  live  acres,  and 
seemingly  light  as  a  dream  ;  in  which  the  might  of  engineering 
and  the  splendor  of  architecture  resonant  of  the  triumphs  of  the 
nineteenth  century  are  combined — an  architecture  no  stale  itera- 
tion of  the  ever-present  and  under-done  rendering  of  Grecian 
orders  in  this  country,  but  palpitating  with  the  courageous  and 
advancing  heart  of  the  age — of  the  age  when  iron  wrenched 
from  the  stubborn  earth,  is  made  to  work  with  the  genius  of  the 
nation — to  cut  its  way  in  the  aboriginal  forest  ;  to  redeem  from 
swamp  and  pestilence  the  richest  land  ;  to  wreathe  great  staples 
into  form  and  value  ;  to  cleave  in  the  steamer  the  angriest  seas  ; 
to  support  with  the  strength  of  fabled  deity  whatever  incumbent 
massive  structure  ;  and,  in  the  last  capacity,  threaded  through 
fields  of  crystal,  to  solve  a  new  problem  in  the  builder's  skill. 
This  all  was  before  them — not  tl*e  names  of  politicians  who  did 


STRICTURES  ON  THE  BANQUET.  45 

nothing  toward  it,  not  the  prides  of  men  paid  out  of  the  public 

purse,  not  the  precedents  and  actors  of  Church  and  State — hut 
Art  and  Labor,  so  displaying  its  calculations  and  proportions,  and 
so  opening  its  doors  to  the  world.  But  no  Art  or  Labor  was  there 
represented  in  person,  while  the  Roman  ideas  which  confined 
greatness  to  the  politician,  warrior,  and  priest— combined  in  the 
high  patrician  person — were  absolutely  carried  out,  and  the  world 
did  not  appear  to  have  advanced  for  two  thousand  years.  And 
the  Banquet,  which  followed,  was  full  in  keeping  with  the  Inau- 
guration. Sir  Charles  Lyell,  being  a  foreign  Commissioner, 
(Lord  Ellesmere,  a  Norman  nobleman,  being  absent,  owing  to 
severe  indisposition,)  was  called  upon  to  speak,  but  that  was  the 
only  real  tribute  to  science  on  the  occasion.  We  wished  on  that 
occasion  to  have  something  except  from  politicians,  in  power  or 
out  of  power,  but, 'with  the  above  reservation,  we  did  not  hear  a 
word.  "We  would  like  to  have  seen  the  company  rise  up  en  masse 
and  cheer  the  architects  who  planned  the  building,  and  thus 
receive  the  homage  which  was  so  ungallantly  withheld  from 
them  at  the  Inauguration — in  the  same  manner  that  Mr.  Paxton 
was  thanked  and  honored  in  public.  But  there  they  sat — country- 
men of  Thorwaldsen— unnoticed  and  unknown — -no  more  named 
than  they  are  in  the  official  catalogue  of  the  Crystal  Palace. 

We  have  no  patience  with  such  proceedings.  Rhetoric  is  pal- 
sied in  characterizing  them  as  they  deserve.  Fejee  Islanders 
would  honor  a  Robinson  Crusoe  who  would  give  them  a  new 
string  to  their  bow  ;  but  on  the  greatest  occasion  of  Art  and  In- 
dustry this  continent  has  ever  known,  we  thrust  both  into  the 
background — we  wrench  the  claims  from  genius — we  drive  the 
laborers  among  the  rafters  of  the  dome,  to  look  down  like  black- 
guard boys  on  the  official  crowd  beneath — we  tell  the  makers  of 
the  treasures  of  the  Exhibition  to  keep  by  their  wares  "  during 
the  ceremonies,"  as  though  they  were  not  fit  to  sit  alongside  of 
cassocks  and  soldier-clothes — we  follow  out  the  uniform  political 
fraud  that  prates  of  this  or  that  speech  in  Congress  saving  the 
Republic,  that  emits,  on  every  public  occasion,  to  signalize  Genius, 
that  never  mentions  the  Inventor,  Painter,  Composer,  or  Poet, 
that  is  circumfused  in  a  sea  of  Roman  and  Norman  lies  ! 

The  time  has  come  when  the  Artists  and  Laborers  of  this 


46 


THE  GREAT  EXHIBITION. 


country  must  seek  to  redeem  themselves  from  the  fardels  of  caste. 
They  must  make  themselves  represented  on  public  occasions. 
They  must  not  forget  politics  or  the  practice  which  overrides  their 
claims.  Politics  have  hitherto  almost  revolved  in  a  circle.  There 
is  as  much  villainy  in  the  government  of  this  city  as  in  either 
House  of  Parliament.  But  it  is  genius  outside  this  that  shapes 
the  destiny  of  nations.  It  is  a  Columbus,  a  Newton,  a  Fulton, 
a  Whitney,  that  re-writes  the  history, of  nations.  Carolina,  adoring 
Calhoun,  forgets  Whitney,  whose  contributions  to  her  wealth  and 
glory  are  as  a  million  to  one  of  Calhoun's — and  so  runs  the 
parallel. — July  18. 

THE  MORAL  OF  THE  PALACE. 
It  is  Gibbon,  if  we  remember  aright,  who  suggests  that  an  Ar- 
minian  commentary  on  the  Epistle  to  the  Romans  must  be  one 
of  the  severest  tests  of  human  ability  and  ingenuity.  That  may 
or  may  not  be  ;  but  it  is  certain  that  there  is  a  charm  in  paradox  for 
men  of  lively  imagination,  and  audacious  self-confidence.  Hence, 
Secretary  Cushing  signalizes  his  progress  to,  and  appearance  at, 
the  opening  of  the  Crystal  Palace,  by  speeches  in  favor  of  Fili- 
busterism  and  War — these  being  the  two  National  follies  and 
crimes  which  would  seem  of  all  others  most  pointedly  rebuked  and 
stripped  naked  by  an  Exhibition  of  the  trophies  of  Industry. 
"  There  is  sometimes  force  in  reason,"  is  Caleb's  generous  conces- 
sion ;  "  but  there  is  always  reason  in  force."  That  is  to  say — 
Might  makes  Right ;  and  Slavery  is  divinely  sanctified,  until  the 
slave  is  able  to  cut  his  master's  throat ;  then  Slavery  becomes 
diabolic,  and  the  ex-slave  is  rightfully  and  religiously  free.  Slavery 
is  right  in  South  Carolina  and  Cuba,  but  horribly  wrong  in  Hayti 
and  Jamaica,  until  the  Filibusters  shall  be  strong  enough  to  over- 
run those  Islands,  when  Slavery  will  again  be  sanctified  in  both. 
Freedom  is  the  right  of  white  men  in  this  country  ;  for  our  fathers, 
with  French  help,  flogged  the  British,  and  made  them  acknowledge 
our  Independence  ;  but  Freedom  has  no  business  in  Poland,  Hun- 
gary, Lombardy,  because  of  the  weight  of  invincible  logic  hurled 
against  it  in  every  death-dealing  discharge  of  Suwarrow's,  Paskie- 
witch's,  and  Radetsky's  batteries.  Who  says  there  are  no  Atheists, 
when  an  American  Minister  of  State  dares  to  utter  a  sentiment 
so  infernal  ? 


STRICTURES  ON  THE  BANQUET. 


47 


Col.  Jefferson  Davis,  being  Secretary  of  War,  very  properly 
irradiated  the  Palace  Banquet  by  a  rhapsody  on  the  blessings  of 
Peace,  to  be  secured  through  universal  Free  Trade  !  To  stop  Na- 
tions fighting  (so  runs  the  argument)  we  must  set  them  fiercely  to 
dickering  and  swapping  jackets.  Of  course,  then,  Carthage  of 
old,  and  Great  Britain  of  modern  times,  must  be  exceedingly  peace- 
ful and  lamb-like,  while  Japan  should  be  a  rapacious,  aggressive, 
bullying,  and  annexing  power.  Of  course  we  ought  to  have  been 
very  belligerent  under  the  Protective  Tariff  of  1842,  but  meek  as 
a  dove  after  reducing  it  to  the  standard  of  1846.  Of  course  we 
are  a  very  harmless,  pacific,  non-covetous  people,  now  that  we  are 
all  glorifying  Free  Trade,  and  its  eloquent  devotee  is  our  Minister 
of  "War  !  Mexico  and  Cuba  may  rest  in  perfect  security,  since  no 
truculent,  grasping  Protectionists  are  likely  to  be  in  power  here 
for  years,  but  such  apostles  of  Peace  as  Davis  and  Cushing  fill  our 
National  Councils  !  Men  who  let  each  other  alone  are  in  danger 
of  fighting  ;  set  them  to  underworking  and  underselling  each  other 
in  common  markets,  and  they  wrill  love  each  other  supremely  ! 
Huzza  for  perpetual  and  universal  Peace  ! 

'  But,"  say  Davis  and  his  echoes,  "  the  Crystal  Palace  preaches 
Free  Trade."  Then  why  are  you  not  willing  to  trust  to  its  preach- 
ing ?  Why  so  eager  to  interpose  your  own  especial  spectacles  be- 
tween the  observer  and  the  object  of  scrutiny  ? 

But  does  the  Crystal  Palace  preach  Free  Trade  ?  Look  at  the 
contributions  from  European  Nations  always  devoted  to  that  policy 
— from  Holland,  Portugal,  Naples,  Turkey,  &c, — compared  with 
those  from  Great  Britain,  France,  and  Belgium,  whose  manufac- 
tures were  notoriously  built  up  under  the  auspices  of  Protection. 
Consider  how  poor  and  rude  German  manufactures  wTere  prior  to 
the  formation  of  the  Zoll-Verein,  or  Tariff-Union,  and  what  im- 
mense and  rapid  strides  they  have  since  made,  and  the  excellence 
they  have  now  attained.  Before  the  Zoll-Verein,  Germany  in  her 
poverty  bought  most  of  her  better  fabrics  from  France  and  Great 
Britain  ;  now  she  rivals  both  in  many  of  the  finest  in  our  own, 
and  other  important  markets  open  on  equal  terms  to  all. 

Do  you  say  these  comparisons  are  far-fetched  ?  Then  contrast 
the  products  exhibited  in  the  Crystal  Palace  from  that  section  of 
our  Union  which  adopted  and  acted  upon  the  Protective  Policy, 


48 


THE  GREAT  EXHIBITION. 


and  that  which,  though  originally  its  advocate,  long  since  repu- 
diated and  has  so  bitterly  resisted  it.  Massachusetts  and  South 
Carolina  have  specimens  of  their  respective  products  in  the  Crystal 
Palace  ;  scrutinize  them,  and  give  the  facts  fair  play.  They  are 
mightier  than  the  rounded  periods  and  glittering  declamations  of 
Col.  Jefferson  Davis. 

"  Ah  !"  says  a  middle-man,  "  Protection  was  a  good  thing  in  its 
season  ;  but  Great  Britain  has  outgrown  and  discarded  it ;  other 
Nations  have  discarded  it ;  we  too  have  outgrown  and  may  now 
repudiate  it."  This  way  of  talking  without  thinking  is  very  com- 
mon now-a-days  with  people  who  suppose  it  squares  with  their 
personal  interests  as  traders  or  political  aspirants  :  let  us  consider 
it  :— 

Does  any  man  now  regret  that  we  have,  by  the  aid  of  Protec- 
tion, built  up  the  manufacture  of  Cotton  and  Woolen  fabrics  in  this 
country,  so  that  they  now  give  employment  to  many  millions  of  capi- 
tal, and  tens  of  thousands  of  our  people  ?  Does  any  man  believe 
that  we  are  now  paying  more  for  these  fabrics  than  we  should  be 
if  we  imported  them  ?  Would  any  American  really  rejoice  to  see 
these  vast  and  prosperous  branches  of  American  Industry  put  back 
to  the  point  where  our  feeble  manufactures  of  Silks  and  Linens  are 
now  struggling  ?  We  do  not  believe  there  is  one.  Nor  do  we 
believe  a  candid,  intelligent  man  can  doubt  that  the  main  reason 
why  our  Cotton  and  Woolen  manufactures  are  now  relatively 
so  strong,  and  those  of  Silks  and  Linens  relatively  so  weak,  is  just 
this — that  we  have  systematically  and  determinedly  protected  the 
former,  while  we  have  failed  to  protect  the  latter. 

Now  admit,  for  argument's  sake,  that  our  Cotton  and  Woolen 
Manufactures,  like  those  of  Great  Britain,  have  outgrown  the  need 
of  Protection — say,  if  you  will,  that  our  Iron  Industry  has  very 
nearly  reached  the  same  point,  and  may,  if  the  present  abundance 
of  Gold  and  consequent  demand  for  Iron  continue,  soon  pass  it — 
does  that  prove  that  we  may  now  discard  Protection  ?  On  the 
contrary,  should  not  the  fact  that  such  results  have  been  attained, 
encourage  us  to  attempt  still  more  ?  What  American  heart  would 
not  rejoice  over  the  fact,  if  it  only  ivere  a  fact,  that  we  could  show 
Linens  with  Ireland,  Silks  with  France  and  Switzerland,  Bronzes 
with  Paris,  Laces  with  Belgium,  Steel  with  England;  &c.  &c,  as 


STRICTURES  ON  THE  BANQUET. 


49 


we  can  show  Plain  Cottons,  Prints,  Ginghams,  Satinets,  Flan- 
nels, Delaines,  Kerseys,  &c.  &c,  with  any  country  in  the  world  ? 
What  American  would  not  hear  with  exultation  of  the  growing 
of  Ten  Millions'  worth  of  Raw  Silk  by  our  countrymen  this  year, 
and  its  subsequent  elaboration  into  rich  and  elegant  fabrics  worth 
Thirty  Millions  ?  Would  not  a  show  of  American  Silks  in  the 
.  Palace  equal  to  the  French,  be  hailed  with  National  pride  through- 
out the  country  ?  How  is  it,  then,  that  we  desire  the  end  "but 
reject  the  means  ?  How  do  we  construe  the  fact  that  our  past 
efforts  have  been  crowned  with  success  into  an  argument  for 
stagnation  hereafter  ?  How  is  it,  in  short,  that  Labor  never 
thinks  for  itself  among  us,  but  allows  itself  to  be  for  ever  led 
blindly  about  by  monopolizing  traders  and  scheming  politicians  ? 
—July  20. 

WHAT  THE  EXHIBITION  TEACHES. 

The  immediate  practical  uses  of  the  Exhibition  will  be  largely 
dwelt  upon  by  the  usual  exponents  of  public  sentiment,  by  the 
journals  and  by  the  occasional  orators  ;  but  there  are  other  as- 
pects of  it  more  important,  perhaps,  but  not  so  likely  to  arrest 
attenaion.    These  we  propose  to  notice. 

Let  us  premise,  however,  that  we  would  not,  by  any  means, 
overlook  the  more  practical  bearings  of  a  display  of  this  kind. 
As  an  epitome  of  the  experiences  of  a  traveller  who  should  pass 
his  time  in  examining  the  workshops  of  the  world,  as  a  collection 
of  the  finest  specimens  of  industrial  art,  as  a  record  of  the  pro- 
gress of  human  development  in  some  of  its  most  significant  ele- 
ments, as  a  tide-mark  of  the  height  of  perfection  to  which  me- 
chanical processes  have  been  carried,  it  cannot  fail  to  be  in- 
structive. 

It  must  be  particularly  instructive  to  Americans,  because  it 
will  furnish  them  with  evidences  of  a  skill  in  many  branches  of 
creation  beyond  their  own,  and  of  models  of  workmanship  which 
are  superior,  precisely  in  those  points  in  which  their  own  are 
most  deficient.  No  one,  we  presume,  will  push  his  national  pre- 
dilections so  far  as  to  deny  that,  in  the  finer  characteristics  of 
manufacture  and  art,  we  have  yet  a  vast  deal  to  learn.  Stupen- 
dous as  our  advances  have  been  in  railroads,  steamboats,  canals, 

3 


50 


THE  GREAT  EXHIBITION. 


printing-presses,  hotels,  and  agricultural  implements — rapidly  as 
we  are  growing  in  excellence  in  a  thousand  departments  of  de- 
sign and  handicraft — astonishing  as  may  he  our  achievements, 
under  all  the  difficulties  of  an  adverse  national  policy — adroit, 
ingenious  and  energetic  as  we  have  shown  ourselves  in  those 
labors  which  have  been  demanded  by  the  existing  conditions  of 
our  society,  we  have  yet  few  fabrics  equal  to  those  of  Manches- 
ter, few  wares  equal  to  those  of  Birmingham  and  Sheffield,  no 
silks  like  those  of  Lyons,  no  jewelry  like  that  of  Geneva,  no 
shawls  like  those  of  the  East,  no  mosaics  like  those  of  Italy. 
But,  in  our  rapid  physical  improvements — growing  as  we  are  in 
prosperity,  in  population,  in  wealth,  in  luxuries  of  all  kinds, — 
these  are  the  articles  that  we  ought  to  have  and  must  have,  to 
give  diversity  to  our  industry,  to  relieve  us  from  dependence  upon 
other  nations,  to  refine  our  taste,  and  to  enable  the  ornamental 
and  elegant  appliances  of  our  life  to  keep  pace  with  our  external 
development.  Mere  wealth,  without  the  refinements  of  wealth 
— barbaric  ostentation,  prodigal  display,  extravagant  self-indul- 
gence— can  only  corrupt  morals  and  degrade  character.  But  the 
cultivation  of  the  finer  arts  redeems  society  from  its  grossness, 
spreads  an  unconscious  moderation  and  charm  around  it,  softens 
the  asperities  of  human  intercourse,  elevates  our  ideals,  and  im- 
parts a  sense  of  serene  enjoyment  to  all  social  relations.  Our 
common  people,  immeasurably  superior  to  the  common  people  of 
other  nations,  in  easy  means  of  subsistence,  in  intelligence,  as  in 
the  sterling  virtues,  are  yet  almost  as  immeasurably  behind  them 
in  polished  and  gentle  manners,  and  the  love  of  Music,  Painting, 
Statuary,  and  all  the  more  refining  social  pleasures. 

These  Exhibitions,  then,  which  make  us  acquainted  with  the 
superlative  arts  of  other  nations,  cannot  but  be  highly  useful  to 
us.  But  they  have  also  another  use — a  moral,  if  not  a  religious 
use,  in  that  they  teach  us  so  powerfully  the  dependence  of  na- 
tions upon  each  other — their  mutual  relations,  and  the  absolute 
necessity  of  each  to  the  comfortable  existence  of  all  the  rest. 
There  is  hardly  an  article  in  the  Crystal  Palace  to  which  the 
labor  of  all  the  world  has  not  in  some  sort  contributed — hardly  a 
machine  which  is  not  an  embodied  record  of  the  industrial  pro- 
gress of  the  world — hardly  a  fabric  which,  analyzed,  does  not 


STRICTURES  ON  THE  BANQUET. 


61 


carry  us  to  the  ends  of  the  earth,  or  which  does  not  connect  us 
intimately  with  the  people  of  every  clime — with  the  miners  who 
tortured  its  raw  material  from  the  dark  cave,  or  the  diver  who 
brought  it  from  the  bottom  of  the  sea — with  the  solitary  mariner 
who  shielded  it  from  the  tempests — with  the  poor,  toil-worn  me- 
chanic who  gave  it  form  or  color,  or  with  the  artist  who  imparted 
to  it  its  final  finish.  Thus,  no  man  liveth  to  himself  alone,  even 
in  his  most  ordinary  occupations ;  he  is  part  and  parcel  of  us,  as 
we  are  of  him.  A  wonderful  and  touching  unity  pervades  the 
relations  of  the  race  ;  all  men  are  useful  to  all  men  ;  and  we 
who  fancy  that,  in  some  important  respects,  we  stand  on  the 
summit  level  of  Humanity,  have  a  deep  interest  in  the  laborers 
of  the  vales — in  the  celerity,  the  excellence,  and  the  success  of 
what  they  do — and  in  the  comfort  and  happiness  of  their  general 
condition.  As  Emerson  has  wisely  sung.,  in  that  sweet  poem  of 
his — 

All  are  needed  by  each  one ; 
Nothing  is  fair  or  good  alone. 

There  is  also  another  thought  suggested  by  our  topic  which 
contains  a  world  of  meaning.  We  are  apt  to  speak,  in  our  dis- 
cussions, of  the  progress  of  Industry  ;  but  do  we  always  ask  our- 
selves wherein  that  progress  consists  ?  Is  it  in  the  greater'  per- 
fection to  which,  in  modern  times,  wTe  have  carried  the  works  of 
our  hands  ?  Look  at  the  elegant  tissues  of  Persia  and  India,  or 
at  the  flexible  blades  of  Toledo  and  Damascus,  and  say  in  how 
far  we  have  surpassed  these  works  of  semi-barbarous  ages  and 
people,  with  all  our  boasted  mechanical  improvement  !  Can  we 
imagine  anything  more  splendid,  more  rich,  and  more  delicate, 
than  the  clothes  in  which  the  Oriental  princes  still  array  them- 
selves, as  their  forefathers  used  to  array  themselves  centuries 
ago  ?  Have  we  yet  a  dye  more  brilliant  than  the  Tyrian,  a 
sculpture  equal  to  that  of  Greece  ?  an  architecture  better  than 
that  of  the  <  '  Dark  Ages?"  paintings  on  glass  to  compare  with 
those  in  the  old  cathedrals  ?  workers  in  bronze  to  rival  a  Cellini  ? 
Is  it  not  the  highest  compliment  that  we  pay  to  a  product  of  skill 
or  genius,  to  say  of  it  that  it  is  e<  classical," — that  it  is  worthy  of 
the  models  that  have  been  preserved  for  ages  in  our  galleries  and 
museums  ?    What,  then,  do  we  mean  when  we  speak  of  our- 


52 


THE  GREAT  EXHIBITION. 


selves  as  more  advanced  than  former  nations  ?    What  is  that 

difference  between  us  which  authorizes  us  to  use  the  word  pro- 
gress, and  to  look  back  wTith  a  complacent,  half-pitying  eye  upon 
the  attainments  of  the  generations  that  have  passed  away  ? 

It  is  this  :  that  in  our  discoveries  in  science,  by  our  applica- 
tions of  those  discoveries  to  practical  art,  by  the  enormous  in- 
crease of  mechanical  power  consequent  upon  mechanical  invention, 
we  have  universalized  all  the  beautiful  and  glorious  results  of 
industry  and  skill,  we  have  made  them  a  common  possession  of 
the  people  ;  and  given  to  Society  at  large — to  almost  the  meanest 
member  of  it — the  enjoyments,  the  luxury,  the  elegance,  which 
in  former  times  were  the  exclusive  privilege  of  kings  and  nobles. 
Formerly,  the  labor  of  the  world  fed  and  clothed  and  ornamented 
the  Prince  and  his  Court,  or  the  warrior  and  his  chieftains  ;  but 
now  it  feeds  and  clothes  and  ornaments  the  peasant  and  his  family. 
Then  the  ten  thousand  poor,  miserable  wretches  worked  for  the 
one,  or  the  few ;  but  now  the  ten  thousand  work  for  the  ten 
thousand.  Then  the  wealth  of  provinces  was  drained  to  heap 
up  splendors  for  the  lord  of  the  province  ;  but  now  that  wealth 
is  multiplied  and  diffused,  to  give  happiness  to  the  commonalty. 
All  the  concentrated  capital  of  Lyons  and  Leeds  and  Lowell,  all 
our  complicated  machinery,  while  it  creates  new  demands  for 
human  labor,  is  intended  to  cheapen  manufacturing  products,  as 
the  effort  of  that  cheapness  is  to  put  the  fabrics  of  woollen  and 
silk  within  the  reach  of  the  poorest  classes.  Our  books,  at  this 
day,  may  not  be  individually  superior  to  the  books  of  the  days  of 
Elzevir,  but  millions  of  men  now  possess  books,  where  hundreds 
only  possessed  them  formerly.  Our  vases  and  cups  may  not  be 
more  exquisitely  wrought  than  the  vases  and  cups  of  Benvenuto 
Cellini  ;  but  they  are  wrought,  not  like  his,  for  Popes  and  Em- 
perors, but  for  Smith  and  Jones,  and  all  the  branches,  collateral 
and  direct,  of  the  immense  families  of  Smith  and  Jones.  Our 
roads  are  not  built  at  a  vast  expense,  for  some  royal  progress,  or 
the  passage  of  a  conquering  army  ;  but  are  built  to  roll  from 
house  to  house  the  precious  treasures  of  industry,  or  a  happy 
freight  of  excursionists,  giving  their  hearts  a  holiday  of  merri- 
ment and  innocent  delight. 

Our  progress,  in  these  modern  times,  then,  consists  in  this,  that 


STRICTURES  ON  THE  BANQUET. 


53 


we  have  democratized  the  means  and  appliances  of  a  higher  life  ; 
that  we  have  spread,  far  and  wide,  the  civilizing  influence  of 
Art ;  that  we  have  brought,  and  are  bringing  more  and  more, 
the  masses  of  the  people  up  to  the  aristocratic  standard  of  taste 
and  enjoyment,  and  so  diffusing  the  influence  of  splendor  and 
grace  over  all  minds.  Grander  powers  have  been  infused  into 
society.  A  larger  variety  and  a  richer  flavor  have  been  given  to 
all  our  individual  experiences  ;  and,  what  is  more,  the  barriers 
that  once  separated  our  race,  the  intervals  of  time  and  space  that 
made  almost  every  tribe  and  every  family  the  enemy  of  every 
other  tribe  and  family,  have  been  annihilated,  to  enable  the  com- 
mon interests  and  common  enjoyments  to  renovate  and  warm  us 
into  amity  of  feeling  and  the  friendly  rivalry  of  fellow- workmen, 
pursuing,  under  different  circumstances,  the  same  great  ends. 

Legislation,  rightly  directed,  might  have  done,  and  may  yet 
do,  much  for  the  civilization  and  advancement  of  society ;  but, 
unfortunately,  in  most  nations  of  the  earth,  the  legislation,  having 
been  under  the  exclusive  control  of  a  self-styled  higher  class,  has 
impeded  rather  than  hastened  the  movement.  Yet,  in  the  face 
of  this  terrible  obstacle,  under  all  the  evils  of  the  insular  mo- 
nopoly of  Great  Britain,  seeking  to  aggrandize  her  own  manufac- 
turing industry  at  the  expense  of  the  industry  of  the  rest  of 
mankind,  the  genius  of  practical  art  has  triumphed,  and  will 
triumph  still  more,  over  every  difficulty.  It  is  raising  the  laborer 
to  his  true  position  ;  it  is  facilitating  the  association  of  men  ;  it 
is  harmonizing  their  interests  ;  and  whether  legislation  helps  it  or 
not,  it  will  ultimately  redeem  our  race  from  dependence  and 
slavery.  And  herein  is  the  chief  reason  why  we  salute  with 
satisfaction  the  opening  of  the  Crystal  Palace. — July  14. 


54 


THE  GREAT  EXHIBITION. 


V. 

SCULPTURE. 

So  infantile  is  the  Sculptor's  art  among  us — so  absolutely  un- 
known to  the  great  mass  of  our  people — and  so  meagre  and  poor 
have  been  its  products  hitherto  accessible  to  the  American  public 
— that  the  display  of  statues,  busts,  and  of  other  works  in  the 
Crystal  Palace  may  be  said  to  work  an  era  in  the  recognition 
and  appreciation  of  Sculpture  in  this  country.  To  it  the  post  of 
honor  in  the  Exhibition  has  palpably  been  assigned  ;  and  no 
visitor  can  have  spent  even  a  half  hour  in  the  Palace  without 
having  his  attention  forcibly  arrested  by  its  numerous  specimens. 
With  these,  then,  let  us  begin  our  analytical  account  of  the 
articles  exhibited ;  and,  since  it  is  important  that  a  severely  cor- 
rect taste  should  be  acquired  and  cultivated  by  our  countrymen — 
since  hardly  can  human  effort  be  worse  directed  than  to  the  pro- 
duction of  defective,  indifferent  works  of  Art — works  which  dis- 
play no  genius  and  enkindle  no  lofty  aims — we  shall  speak  of 
them  with  entire  frankness  and  with  relentless  justice. 

First,  then,  let  us  observe,  that  there  is  no  sphere  of  art  in 
which  the  public  is  so  much  imposed  on,  and,  if  we  may  say  it, 
so  extremely  humbugged,  as  in  sculpture.  The  reason  is  pal- 
pable. Sculpture  brings  before  us  forms  without  color,  a  thing 
unknown  to  nature.  It  deals  only  with  outlines  and  surfaces, 
having  abstracted  therefrom  the  mass  of  qualities  that  the  com- 
mon eye  beholds  in  external  objects.  Consequently,  the  common 
eye  is  unable  to  judge  of  its  excellence.  The  mass  of  people, 
when  placed  before  a  statue,  are  about  as  incompetent  to  esti- 
mate and  feel  its  worth  or  its  defects,  as  a  blind  man  would  be 
to  decide  about  the  correctness  of  a  model  of  the  Parthenon  or  of 
Mount  Blanc.  They  have  not  observed  and  studied  nature  in 
that  aspect,  and  accordingly  cannot  tell  whether  its  representa- 
tion is  faithful  and  artistic  or  the  contrary.    But  they  know  that 


SCULPTURE. 


55 


the  work  before  them  is  sculpture ;  that  it  was  carved  by  the 
illustrious  Mr.  Thing,  or  the  famous  Baron  Thung,  and  so  they 
go  into  raptures  about  it.  They  are,  simply,  thoroughly  hum- 
bugged, and  think  they  enjoy  themselves  in  proportion. 

A  striking  illustration  of  the  truth  of  these  remarks  may  be 
had  by  whomsoever  will  take  the  trouble  to  stand  for  a  little 
while  near  Baron  Marochetti's  equestrian  statue  of  Washington, 
which  is  in  the  place  of  honor  under  the  dome  of  the  Palace. 
It  is  bad,  unqualifiedly  and  entirely ;  it  is  beneath  mediocrity ; 
and  yet  it  seems  to  be  a  source  of  pleasure  to  many  humbugged 
people.  We  are  told  that  the  same  horse  was  employed  by  the 
artist  to  mount  the  effigy  of  Richard  Coeur  de  Lion,  which  he  ex- 
hibited at  the  London  World's  Fair,  and  which  was  so  much  ad- 
mired that  a  movement  has  been  set  on  foot  to  erect  it  in  Hyde 
Park  as  a  public  monument  of  that  Exhibition — which  move- 
ment, by  the  way,  will  fall  through,  under  the  vigorous  opposi- 
tion of  the  London  Press.  But  this  proves  nothing  more  than 
that  the  admirers  of  Marochetti  in  England  are  as  easily  de- 
luded as  those  in  this  country.  For,  though  we  never  saw  that 
statue,  we  dare  pronounce  it  intolerable.  No  group  of  which 
such  a  horse  forms  a  part,  could  be  worthy  of  any  criticism  ex- 
cept to  explode  its  pretensions.  It  is  an  ungainly,  wooden,  life- 
less, and  ill-proportioned  animal.  Its  action  would  be  impossi- 
ble in  a  real  horse.  The  fore  foot  is  lifted  as  if  to  paw  the 
ground  with  violence,  while  the  raised  hind  foot  is  going  upon  a 
gentle  trot.  But  this  colossal  abortion  is  nothing  to  the  figure 
astride  of  it.  The  attitude  of  this  figure  is  about  that  which 
would  be  assumed  by  a  bag  of  meal  on  horseback.  The  body  is 
short  and  squat  and  the  legs  long,  while  the  head  is  out  of  pro- 
portion with  either.  The  face  has  not  the  least  resemblance  to 
that  of  Washington,  and  looks  more  like  Franklin,  than  any  other 
of  the  American  revolutionary  patriots,  though  we  should  hate 
to  believe  it  a  likeness  of  any.  The  head  is  bare,  and  the  right 
hand,  resting  on  the  thigh,  holds  the  three-cornered  hat.  This 
hand  is  twisted  in  a  manner  which  suggests  the  idea  of  palsy  or 
some  other  preternatural  flexibility  of  the  muscles.  The  palm  is 
turned  outward,  and  the  fingers  are  quite  out  of  proportion.  In 
short,  we  are  unable  to  find  in  this  colossal  work  a  single  point 


56 


THE  GREAT  EXHIBITION 


worthy  to  be  admired  or  even  tolerated,  and  if  the  artist  enjoys, 
as  we  are  told  he  does,  a  European  reputation,  it  must  be  among 
a  very  limited  circle. 

But,  if  we  are  obliged  thus  to  speak  of  this  statue,  what  shall 
be  said  of  the  image  behind  it,  called  by  the  name  of  "Webster  ? 
This  is  certified  to  be  the  production  of  Mr.  Carew,  an  English 
sculptor,  whose  name  had  been  heard  on  this  side  of  the  Atlantic, 
though  his  works  had  never  been  seen  here.  Absolutely,  this 
statue  is  a  disgrace  to  its  maker,  and  an  outrage  on  the  memory 
of  its  subject.  We  have  used  pretty  severe  language  on  tho 
Washington,  but  it  is  a  genuine  work  of  art  compared  with  the 
Webster.  We  do  not  believe  there  is  in  town  a  wood-carver, 
who  cuts  figure-heads  for  ships,  who  would  not  lose  all  his  cus- 
tomers if  he  supplied  them  with  such  work  as  this.  The  head  is 
deformed ;  the  forehead  bulges  as  with  hydrocephalus ;  the  fea- 
tures are  feeble  and  expressionless  ;  the  body,  the  arms,  the  legs, 
the  draperies,  the  pose,  the  action — all  are  not  only  without 
merit,  but  so  far  replete  with  its  opposite  as  to  be  beneath  con- 
tempt. Indeed,  it  is  a  pity  that  the  thing  stands  in  the  Exhibition. 

From  these  two  unfortunate  productions  we  turn  with  satisfac- 
tion to  the  Amazon  by  Kiss,  which  has  its  place  near  them,  as  if 
to  render  their  want  of  every  artistic  quality  only  the  more  salient. 
This  is  a  work  of  undeniable  ability,  which  has  achieved  a  good 
reputation  for  its  author.  The  original  stands  in  the  open  air  by 
the  door  of  the  Museum  at  Berlin,  and  has  long  been  an  object 
of  admiration  in  Germany.  At  London,  too,  it  received  the 
medal  given  to  the  best  piece  of  sculpture  in  the  Exhibition. 
The  subject  has  great  capabilities.  A  young  Amazon  on  horse- 
back, armed  with  a  spear,  is  surprised  by  a  tiger  leaping  upon  the 
breast  and  neck  of  her  horse  and  fixing  his  claws  and  teeth  in  the 
flesh  of  the  frightened  and  suffering  animal.  Undaunted,  she 
levels  her  spear  at  the  tiger,  and  her  face  and  mpvement  indi- 
cate a  courage  superior  to  his  ferocity.  It  is  a  conception  full  of 
the  elements  of  life  and  interest.  The  beautiful  woman,  whose 
costume  and  mpvement  reveal  at  once  the  vigor  and  the  grace  of 
her  form,  the  wounded  and  desperate  horse,  the  tiger  clinging 
madly  to  his  prey,  and  the  bold  heart  and  firm  hand  of  the  rider, 
all  powerfully  appeal  to  the  feelings  of  the  beholder.    There  is 


SCULPTURE. 


67 


also  great  merit  in  the  execution.  Contrast  this  living  and  well- 
shaped  horse  with  that  deformed  one  by  Marochetti,  and  you  will 
easily  get  too  high  an  idea  of  the  work  of  Kiss.  Certainly  it  is 
far  superior  to  the  mediocrity  that  prevails  in  the  mass  of  recent 
sculptures.  There  is  in  it  the  evidence  of  power,  knowledge,  and 
sense,  on  the  part  of  the  artist.  It  deserves  to  be  admired.  But 
we  do  not  pronounce  it  faultless.  There  are  serious  defects  in  it  as 
a  composition.  For  instance,  if  you  stand  directly  in  front  of  the 
group,  you  will  be  unable  to  form  an  idea  of  what  it  represents. 
The  back  of  the  tiger  is  so  curved  by  the  animal's  posture  on  the 
chest  of  the  horse,  that  you  cannot  tell  that  it  is  a  tiger,  and  at 
the  same  time  it  hides  from  you  both  the  Amazon  and  the  horse, 
with  the  exception  of  the  head  of  the  latter — which,  however,  is 
turned  aside,  so  that  you  are  not  sure  that  it  belongs  to  the  same 
body  to  wThich  the  tiger  is  hanging.  Now,  it  will  not  do  to  say 
that  it  is  not  necessary  that  this  front  view  should  be  perfect ;  be- 
cause the  group  stands  in  Berlin  with  that  view  directly  presented 
to  the  public,  and  it  should,  therefore,  have  been  composed  so  as 
to  make  that  view  a  good  one,  if  not  the  best  of  all.  On  the 
whole,  it  is  an  interesting  and  pleasing  work,  but  by  no  means  a 
first-rate  one. 

The  view  of  this  work  is  somewhat  impeded  by  the  crowd 
constantly  gathered  about  the  four  works  of  Hiram  Powers, 
which  adorn  the  Exhibition  just  at  the  beginning  of  the  east  nave, 
and  at  the  point  where  the  Amazon  can  be  seen  to  the  best  ad- 
vantage. We  have  here  a  copy  of  the  Greek  Slave,  the  Eve,  the 
Fisher  Boy,  and  the  bust  called  Proserpine.  The  Eve  alone  is 
entirely  novel  to  the  public,  the  others  having  been  repeatedly 
exhibited  here  before.  It  is  marked  by  the  general  characteristics 
of  its  author's  productions.  In  some  respects,  it  is  superior  to  the 
Greek  Slave,  though,  as  a  whole,  it  is  not  so  successful.  Mr. 
Powers  is  absolutely  unequalled  in  the  perfection  with  which  he 
re-produces  nature,  and  in  the  exquisite  elaboration  of  the  sur- 
faces of  the  body.  No  artist,  since  Greek  sculpture  was  at  its 
climax,  has  so  given  us  the  convolutions  and  rounded  swell  of 
the  muscles,  and  the  beautiful  quality  and  delicate  variations  of 
the  skin.  In  what  we  may  call  the  execution  of  a  statue,  we 
cannot  too  much  admire  this  conscientious  and  nature-loving 


53 


THE  GREAT  EXHIBITION. 


worker.  Give  him  nature  to  put  into  marble,  and  lie  is  peerless. 
For  the  same  reason,  his  busts  of  living  persons  are  admirable. 
They  not  only  are  good  likenesses,  containing  the  character, 
features,  and  temperament  of  the  original,  but  they  derive  a  cer- 
tain air  of  vitality  and  power  from  the  artist,  which,  in  the  case  of 
strongly-marked  individualities,  such  for  instance  as  Gen.  Jackson, 
gives  the  beholder  something  of  the  higher  pleasure  belonging  to 
the  ideal,  and  that  without  any  violation  of  artistic  truth.  This 
sort  of  excellence  is  well  illustrated  by  the  Eve.  The  body  of 
this  statue  is  finely  modelled,  and  replete  with  a  feeling  of  life 
and  movement  ;  the  muscles  of  the  trunk  are  alive,  and  its 
forms  satisfy  the  desire  for  beauty.  The  legs,  however,  are  too 
heavy,  and  the  head  is  totally  destitute  of  meaning.  Not  only 
is  it  not  Eve,  the  Mother  of  Humanity,  with  the  destinies  of  a 
world  foreshadowed  on  her  features,  but  it  is  not  even  a  tolerable 
face  which  might  pass  for  any  ordinary  person.  Instead  of 
going  to  nature,  and  finding  among  her  living  types  the  elements 
of  a  head  and  face  befitting  such  a  character,  Mr.  Powers  has 
resorted  to  the  conventional  classic  model  ;  and,  with  that  for 
his  guide  and  standard,  has  attempted  the  strict  ideal.  Now, 
this  is  where  his  ability  is  deficient.  He  cannot  create  ;  his 
imagination  is  not  of  that  power  and  temper  which  we  call 
original  genius  ;  and  where  he  undertakes  the  ideal  he  lamenta- 
bly fails.  Every  work  here  exhibited  proves  this.  Here  are 
four  heads,  and  every  one  of  them  is  flat,  barren,  soulless,  sense- 
less. The  statues,  if  the  heads  were  knocked  off,  would  com- 
mand universal  applause  ;  but  the  eyes  which  can  see  meaning 
in  either  of  these  four  faces,  must  be  greatly  aided  by  the  fancy 
of  their  possessor.  Nor  in  respect  of  originality  in  their  concep- 
tion can  we  award  the  highest  praise  to  these  statues.  They  are 
rather  re-productions  of  the  antique  than  new  works,  and  we  can- 
not behold  either  Eve  or  the  Greek  Slave  without  feeling  that  the 
Venus  de  Medicis  has  not  only  been  thoroughly  studied  by  their 
author,  but  that  its  suggestions  were  never  absent  from  his  mind 
while  modelling  them.  So,  also,  the  Fisher  Boy  is  a  derivative 
of  the  Young  Apollo.  This  criticism,  however,  applies  to  others, 
the  most  eminent  modern  sculptors,  and  is  dwelt  on  with  regard 
to  Mr.  Powers  only,  with  a  view  to  fixing  his  place  in  the  history 


SCULPTURE. 


59 


of  art.  What  that  place  is  we  think  is  not  doubtful.  In  the 
manipulation  of  marble,  and  in  the  representation  of  muscular 
action  and  surfaces  of  flesh,  he  is  supreme,  among  modern  sculp- 
tors ;  in  portraiture,  he  has  but  one  or  two  equals  ;  in  imagina- 
tive and  creative  power,  there  are  few,  of  any  note,  who  do  not 
surpass  him. 

A  statue  of  Flora,  by  Crawford,  is  to  be  shown  here  before 
the  Exhibition  closes,  but  as  it  had  not  arrived  when  these  lines 
were  written,  we  can  only  speak  of  the  design.  The  figure  is  to 
occupy  a  place  in  the  conservatory  of  a  wealthy  and  tasteful 
citizen  of  New  York.  The  goddess  is  represented  as  lightly 
moving  forward,  scattering  flowers  with  both  hands.  It  must  be 
a  graceful  and  pleasing  work.  Crawford  has  that  quality  of 
imagination  which  Powers  has  not.  He  conceives  large  and 
complicated  works,  requiring  great  constructive  and  combining 
genius.  His  mind  is  affluent  in  artistic  ideas  of  grand  and  varied 
beauty.  Witness  the  design  of  the  monument  to  Washington  he 
is  now  executing  for  Virginia.  We  hold  him  to  be  the  first  of 
American  sculptors,  and,  in  his  peculiar  line,  to- have  no  superior 
among  his  living  rivals  of  other  nations. 

Opposite  to  the  Amazon,  and  near  the  Powers'  collection,  is  an 
equestrian  statue  by  Ottin,  a  French  sculptor,  representing  an 
Indian  shooting  an  arrow  into  the  throat  of  a  snake,  which  has 
coiled  its  folds  around  his  horse,  forcing  the  animal  upon  its 
haunches.  The  snake  has  its  head  raised  and  its  mouth  opened 
to  strike  its  enemy,  who  improves  the  moment  to  pierce  the  rep- 
tile through  the  head  and  neck.  The  work  has  more  the  air  of 
a  sketch  than  a  finished  statue.  The  figure  of  the  Indian  is 
spirited,  and  shows  careful  study  of  human  anatomy.  In  an  out- 
of-the-way  corner  of  the  Palace  is  another  group,  by  a  French 
artist,  representing  a  fisherman  in  the  hug  of  a  polar  bear.  The 
man  has  planted  his  knife  in  the  bear's  neck,  but  the  latter 
crushes  him  to  death  in  that  resistless  grip,  and  his  head  already 
9  droops  in  the  exhaustion  of  death.  There  is  a  good  deal  of  power 
in  the  treatment  of  this  subject,  but  it  is  repulsive.  It  is  con- 
trary to  the  internal  truth  of  art  to  represent  man  falling  a  help- 
less victim  to  an  inferior  animal  ;  the  struggle  between  them  may 
excite  interest  and  pleasure,  as  we  see  in  Kiss's  Amazon,  but  the 


GO 


THE  GREAT  EXHIBITION. 


total  defeat  of  the  human  combatant  is  simply  painful  and  disa- 
greeable. 

There  is  a  great  variety  of  other  large  works  by  French 
artists,  but  none  that  requires  particular  remark. 

In  the  South  Nave  stands  Muller's  group  of  the  Minstrel's  Curse. 
Mr.  Miiller  is  a  young  German  sculptor,  trained  in  the  best 
schools  of  Europe,  who  has  come  to  establish  himself  in  this 
country,  bringing  with  him  this  group  as  an  evidence  of  his  ca- 
pacities. "We  fear  that  his  talents  have  not  been  recognized  here 
at  their  true  value,  for  we  see  in  the  Exhibition  nothing  else  from 
his  severe  and  vigorous  chisel.  Nor  are  the  charms  of  elegance 
and  beauty  lacking  to  him.  In  this  group,  the  boy,  fainting  in 
the  languor  of  death,  droops,  with  touching  grace,  to  the  earth  ; 
while  the  father,  standing  upright,  raises  his  right  hand  to  launch 
the  imprecation  at  the  tyrant  who  has  slain  his  son.  The  story 
is  told  in  one  of  the  beautiful  ballads  of  Uhland,  and  the  sculp- 
tor has  admirably  caught  its  spirit.  A  wandering  minstrel  and 
his  son  sing  before  a  king  and  queen  ;  the  queen  is  pleased  with 
the  boy,  and  the  king,  in  a  paroxysm  of  jealousy,  slays  him  ; 
thereupon  the  father  launches  a  weighty  imprecation  at  the  mur- 
derer. We  see  him  here  with  his  right  arm  raised  aloft  to  pro- 
nounce the  curse,  while  his  left  sustains  the  youth  smiling  in 
death  at  his  feet.  The  figure  of  the  father  is  full  of  dignity  and 
strength,  and  his  face  is  inspired  with  the  just  rage  natural  to 
one  who  has  lost  so  much  by  such  a  crime.  This  group  is  not 
yet  placed  upon  a  permanent  pedestal,  and  does  not  stand  high 
enough  to  be  seen  to  the  best  advantage.  It  is  an  ornament  to 
the  Exhibition,  and  will  carry  the  fame  of  its  author  over  the 
United  States. 

In  the  North  Nave  is  a  bronze  figure  by  Mr.  H.  K.  Brown, 
apparently  designed  for  a  monument.  If  we  mistake  not,  it  is 
essentially  the  same  statue  as  we  saw  last  year,  by  Mr.  Brown, 
called  the  Angel  of  the  Resurrection.  At  any  rate,  the  two 
have  a  family  likeness,  though  this  one  has  no  wings,  while  the  „ 
other  was  well  furnished  in  that  respect.  It  is  a  female  figure, 
draped  to  the  feet,  with  the  right  hand  raised  and  pointing  up, 
and  the  left  suspended  and  pointing  down.  It  has  little  meaning 
and  no  beauty.    By  the  way,  why  will  Mr.  Brown  provide  his 


SCULPTURE. 


61 


statues  with  such  big  feet  ?  The  draperies  are  very  common- 
place and  insignificant. 

Not  far  off  is  the  great  attraction  among  the  sculptures  of  the 
Palace,  next  to  the  works  of  Powers.  "We  refer  to  Thorwaldsen's 
Christ  and  Apostles.  They  are  all  large,  but  the  Christ  is  co- 
lossal. These  figures  were  designed  to  ornament  a  church,  and 
can  be  perfectly  appreciated  only  in  combination  with  architec- 
ture. The  Christ,  for  instance,  should  stand  so  far  from  the 
others  as  to  reduce  the  excessive  difference  in  their  size,  but  here 
the  want  of  space  necessitates  crowding  them  together.  And  so 
of  every  one  of  the  thirteen  statues  ;  each  can  be  properly  judged 
only  in  connection  with  the  objects  and  uses  for  which  it  was 
made.  But  they  all  betray  the  hand  of  a  master.  Thorwaldsen 
was  not  a  great  original  genius.  He  is  not  to  be  classed  with  the 
first  sculptors  of  history,  with  such  men  as  made  the  Venus  of 
Milo  or  the  frieze  of  the  Parthenon.  Among  modern  sculptors  he 
has  superiors  in  some  respects.  He  could  not  have  made  Hou- 
don's  Voltaire,  or  some  of  the  busts  of  Powers.  But  he  was  a 
man  of  broad,  powerful,  generous  nature,  and  of  exhaustless  fer- 
tility. He  could  grasp  and  combine  a  complicated  work,  and 
take  hold  of  it  with  mastery  and  ease.  What  a  life  of  happy 
activity  was  his  !  what  a  crowd  of  productions  he  left  behind 
him  !  ranging  through  almost  every  sphere  of  his  art,  marked 
generally  by  the  freshness  of  a  broad  and  untiring  imagination, 
and  executed  in  a  large  and  facile  manner.  He  was  rich  in  re- 
sources, and  his  mind  and  hand  were  fraught  with  erudition. 
There  is  much  learning  in  these  thirteen  figures.  Take  the  dra- 
peries, for  instance,  and  see  how  artistically  rich  and  graceful 
hang  their  folds.  These  details  illustrate  the  superiority  of  the 
accomplished  artist.  If  you  would  know  their  value,  turn  from 
Thorwaldsen  to  Brown,  and  contrast  the  draperies  of  the  Apos- 
tles with  those  of  the  bronze  figure  above  referred  to.  In  point 
of  expression,  we  find  these  statues  not  inadequate  to  their  sub- 
jects and  their  purpose.  The  general  treatment  must  of  neces- 
sity be  somewhat  conventional,  and  based  upon  the  traditions  and 
sentiments  of  the  religious  world.  An  entirely  new  conception 
of  the  Savior  and  his  followers  would  have  been  unsuited  to  the 
purpose  for  which  the  group  was  made.    Within  these  limits, 


62 


THE  GREAT  EXHIBITION. 


then,  lay  the  problem  to  he  solved  by  the  artist ;  and  his  work, 
if  it  does  not  attain  ideal  perfection,  is  worthy  of  his  fame.  If 
not  a  great  and  faultless  work,  it  is  one  of  eminent  merits,  and 
we  predict  will  continue  to  be  the  most  generally  admired  feature 
of  the  Exhibition. 

A  considerable  number  of  Italian  statues  are  exhibited,  mostly 
in  marble,  but  they  are  uniformly  very  poor.  Italy  is  now  not 
rich  in  either  sculpture  or  painting,  and  has  by  no  means  sent 
here  specimens  of  her  best.  In  Industry  she  has  beautiful  pro- 
ducts in  the  Exhibition  ;  but  in  Art  we  cannot  boast  for  her. 
One  statue,  however,  has  a  pleasing  character  :  it  is  of  a  child 
threading  a  needle,  and  the  intent  expression  of  the  face  makes 
it  prominent  among  the  dreary  blankness  of  its  neighbors. 

A  bust,  called  Ariadne,  is  exhibited  by  the  American  sculptor 
Ives,  now  in  Italy.  It  is  carefully  and  nicely  wrought,  and 
forms  a  pleasing  ornament  for  a  parlor,  but  why  it  is  called 
Ariadne  we  are  at  a  loss  to  discover.  There  is  nothing  about  it 
which  would  not  answer  as  well  to  the  name  of  Daphnis,  or 
Cybele,  or  any  other  classic  appellation.  The  face  is  regular 
enough,  but  has  a  great  deal  less  meaning  than  Undine's  had  be- 
fore she  became  endowed  with  a  soul,  for  that  was  full  of  the 
life  of  the  external  elements,  and  poor  Ariadne  has  no  life  at  all. 
We  have  little  respect  for  these  fancy  heads  which  are  like  no- 
thing in  nature.  It  is  a  pity  that  sculptors  of  talent  should  waste 
their  time  on  such  nonentities. 

Mr.  Ball,  of  Boston,  exhibits  a  Statuette  of  Webster,  in 
terra-cotta,  which  has  a  great  deal  of  merit.  The  likeness  is 
good  and  the  pose  dignified  and  natural.  The  great  orator, 
standing,  and  with  his  head  erect,  seems  about  to  enounce  some 
weighty  proposition.  His  right  hand  rests  easily  in  his  vest, 
as  it  was  wont  to  do  when  he  uttered  the  general  idea  on  which 
whole  periods  of  reasoning  declamation  were  to  be  based. 
No  other  sculptor  has  so  well  succeeded  in  pourtraying  Mr. 
Wrebster. 

But  after  all,  the  large  works  in  bronze  and  marble  must 
yield  the  palm  of  perfection  to  some  animals  and  birds  in 
bronze  in  the  French  department.  In  this  line,  excellence  here 
seems  to  reach  its  boundary.    There  is  a  heron  trying  to 


SCULPTURE. 


63 


extract  an  arrow  which  has  pierced  its  body,  by  Comolera, 
which  we  do  not  think  could  be  improved,  either  in  vivid  truth 
to  nature,  or  in  the  details  of  its  execution.  There  are  par- 
tridges, wolves,  and  other  animals  by  Delabrierre,  with  cats,, 
monkeys,  and  birds,  by  Fremiet,  which,  though  of  less  magni- 
tude and  pretension,  are  remarkable  for  beauty  and  artistic 
finish  of  work.  It  is  perhaps  not  singular  that  in  these  small 
and  comparatively  easy  subjects  such  excellence  should  be 
reached,  while  the  nobler  horse  is  so  rarely  modelled  with  truth 
and  life,  and  the  still  nobler  creature,  man,  rarest  of  all.  It 
was  not  so  in  the  palmy  days  of  Greek  art.  The  horses  on  the 
Parthenon  are  beautiful,  but  the  human  figures  are  more  so. 
Then  the  artist  seemed  to  gain  in  power  as  his  subject  rose  ; 
now  it  is  the  reverse. 

We  cannot  properly  close  our  notice  of  the  statuary  in  the 
Crystal  Palace,  without  reference  to  the  Equestrian  Jackson, 
by  Clark  Mills,  which,  though  not  exhibited  beneath  its  roof,  is 
exhibited  in  the  neighborhood,  and  with  reference  to  the  crowds 
attracted  there.  This  work  has  been  excessively  and  ignorantly 
praised,  and  will  stand  as  a  monument  of  the  absurdity  of  try- 
ing to  do  what  you  don't  understand.  It  has  two  points  on 
which  it  has  been  lauded  ;  one  is,  that  it  was  made  by  a  young 
man  who  knew  nothing  of  sculpture  but  what  he  taught  him- 
self, and  the  other  is  that  it  stands  unpropped  on  its  hind  legs. 
Both  are  foolish,  but  the  first  is  preposterous.  You  might  as 
well  expect  a  young  man  with  an  ear  for  music,  but  no  instruc- 
tion, to  compose  an  opera  like  Don  Juan,  or  an  unlearned  car- 
penter to  build  an  edifice  like  St.  Peter's,  as  to  expect  a  good 
equestrian  statue  from  a  tyro,  though  he  had  a  genius  like 
Michael  Angelo.  Such  a  statue  requires  all  the  discipline,  all 
the  learning,  all  the  resources  of  the  art,  of  which  it  is  one  of 
the  most  difficult  productions.  Why,  a  man  is  not  trusted  to 
make  a  watch,  or  forge  a  horse-shoe,  till  he  has  gone  through  an 
apprenticeship  ;  and  yet  we  are  told  that  he  can  accomplish  a 
work  infinitely  more  difficult  without  any  apprenticeship  at  all ! 
This  is  the  summit  of  nonsense,  and  merited  the  endorsement 
of  the  last  Congress  with  a  premium  of  $20,000.  But  let  us 
look  at  the  statue  which  has  thus  been  rewarded.    Here  we  are 


64 


THE  GREAT  EXHIBITION. 


met  by  the  second  point  of  excellence,  the  rearing  of  the  horse 
on  his  hind  legs  without  any  prop  to  hold  him  up,  such  as  is 
employed  in  other  equestrian  statues  where  the  horse  is  repre- 
sented in  that  position.  Now  this  is  not  an  artistic  but  a 
mechanical  point,  and  might  have  been  gained  by  any  former 
artist  who  had  enough  ignorance,  or  want  of  conscience.  There 
is  no  difficulty  whatever  in  standing  such  a  statue  on  the  hind 
legs,  and  never  was  any  difficulty,  if  artists  would  have  adopted 
the  manner  of  Mr.  Mills.  His  secret  consists  in  substituting 
for  the  legs  of  a  horse  those  of  a  gigantic  ox  or  a  moderately 
sized  elephant.  On  supports  like  those  a  world  might  stand 
alone,  without  any  special  glory  to  the  builder ;  indeed,  if  he 
boasted  of  it  as  a  beauty,  it  would  rather  turn  to  his  shame. 

In  the  Jackson,  this  disproportion  of  the  horse's  hind  legs  and 
quarters  is  excessive ;  seen  from  the  rear  or  the  front,  it 
becomes  a  deformity  which  would  be  glaring  were  there  any 
beauty  in  the  work  with  which  to  contrast  it.  The  equipoise 
of  the  statue  is,  no  doubt,  also  maintained  by  casting  the  rear 
parts  much  heavier  than  the  front.  The  figure  of  the  rider  is 
mainly  back  of  the  apparent  centre  of  gravity,  and  does  its  part 
in  keeping  all  straight.  It  is  a  stiff,  awkward,  graceless,  and 
undignified  figure.  Nothing  could  well  be  less  pleasing  than 
the  angular,  elbow-crooked  sort  of  way  in  which  the  right  hand 
holds  the  military  hat.  But  we  cannot  go  over  the  work  in 
detail.  Nor  does  it  need  such  criticism.  It  speaks  for  itself. 
It  is  the  work  of  a  novice.  It  is  not  a  wrork  of  art.  It  knows 
nothing  of  art.  It  has  no  artistic  features.  It  is,  no  doubt,  an 
ingenious  production  for  a  young  man  under  such  circum- 
stances, but  it  is  most  unfit  for  Congress  to  pay  for,  or  to 
be  set  up  as  a  national  monument.  Still,  if  it  is  any  con- 
solation, we  will  add  that  it  is  not  so  poor  as  Marochetti's 
Washington. 

We  state  these  plain  truths  with  sorrow,  but  they  need  to  be 
stated,  not  only  for  the  sake  of  Mr.  Mills,  but  for  the  sake  of 
the  country.  It  is  a  national  misfortune  for  an  American  to 
produce  a  work  so  beneath  criticism,  at  a  large  expense  to  the 
National  Treasury.  It  is  a  personal  misfortune  when  it  is 
grossly  and  falsely  praised,  for  such  delusion  cannot  last,  and 


SCULPTURE. 


C5 


the  waking  up  from  it  is  intensely  painful.  Mr.  Mills  has  a 
contract  to  make  a  statue  of  Washington.  We  earnestly 
counsel  him  to  doubt  his  own  powers  ;  to  begin  the  modest  and 
difficult  career  which  alone  can  elevate  even  a  man  of  genius 
into  an  artist ;  and  to  qualify  himself  for  so  arduous  a  work 
before  he  undertakes  its  execution. 


65 


THE  GREAT  EXHIBITION. 


VI. 

REAPING,  MOWING  AND  THRESHING  MACHINES. 

Whether  we  regard  the  ingenuity  of  their  contrivance,  or  the 
practical  services  they  render,  the  machines  for  Reaping  and 
Mowing  naturally  take  the  first  rank  among  farming  implements, 
and  first  of  these  machines,  because  more  widely  known,  is 
McCormick's  Reaper,  of  which,  since  1846,  Mr.  McCormick  has 
sold  at  his  manufactory,  at  Chicago,  111.,  upwards  of  seven  thou- 
sand. This  Reaper  is  also  used  for  mowing ;  the  price  for  the 
Reaper  is  $115,  and  when  arranged  for  mowing,  $140.  About 
1200  a  year  are  manufactured  and  sold  at  these  rates.  The 
cutting  principle  is  that  of  a  sickle-edged  knife,  which  is  slightly 
indented  on  the  edge,  working  in  combination  with  fingers  which 
hold  the  grain  up  to  the  knife.    Twenty  acres  can  be  cut  in  a  day. 

Next  to  this  may  be  seen  Ketcham's  Mowing  Machine,  the 
best  known  and  most  approved  for  merely  cutting  grass,  of  any 
of  the  family.  The  cutting  principle  of  this  machine  is  that  of 
sheais.  The  blades  are  like  large  saw-teeth,  being  some  four 
inches  long,  riveted  to  a  bar,  and  working  through  stationary  fin- 
gers, cutting  very  smooth  and  close  to  the  ground,  and  not  liable 
to  clog.  The  motion  is  given  by  a  cast-iron  driving-wheel  and 
gearing,  done  by  two  horses,  the  driver  sitting  upon  a  safe  and 
comfortable  seat,  while  a  swath  about  five  feet  wide  is  cut  at  his 
right  hand  as  fast  as  his  horses  can  walk.  We  are  not  able  to 
give  the  price  or  performance  of  this  machine,  as  we  found  no 
one  present  to  answer  any  questions.  We  happen  to  know,  how- 
ever, that  it  is  a  very  valuable  farm  implement,  and  can  be 
worked  upon  tolerably  rough  ground.  They  are  manufactured 
at  Buffalo. 

Manny's  Reaper  and  Mower  is  a  western  machine,  invented 
and  patented  in  1851,  by  J.  H.  Manny,  of  Freeport,  111.  In 
public  favor,  it  is  likely  to  become  a  strong  rival  of  some  of  the 


REAPING,  MOWING,  AND  THRESHING  MACHINES.  67 


older  inventions  in  the  same  line.  Readers  will  remember  that 
this  is  a  premium  machine,  as  a  combined  Mower  and  Reaper. 

Burr  all's  Convertible  Reaper,  as  most  of  our  agricultural 
readers  will  recollect,  took  the  first  premium  as  a  Reaper,  at 
the  great  trial  last  year  at  Geneva,  New- York,  where  they  are 
manufactured  by  Thomas  D.  Burrall,  and  sold  "  cheap  for  cash," 
but  how  much  is  not  made  apparent.  It  is  undoubtedly  a  good 
Reaper,  and  the  inventor  thinks  it  is  now  so  perfected  that  he 
can  also  compete  successfully  with  others  in  mowing.  This  ma- 
chine is  made  to  discharge  the  grain  like  Hussey's,  in  the  rear, 
or  like  McCormick's,  at  the  side.  There  are  some  advantages 
claimed  for  this  convertible  principle,  upon  the  merits  of  which 
we  shall  not  attempt  to  decide.  The  cutting  principle  is  similar 
to  Ketcham's  or  Manny's,  by  triangular-shaped  knives  moving 
between  stationary  fingers. 

Hussey's  Mowing  and  Reaping  Machine  should  properly  have 
been  named  first,  as  it  is  the  original  of  all  the  Reaping  Machines 
in  America.  The  inventor  (one  of  nature's  noblemen)  is  a  resi- 
dent of  Baltimore,  where  he  manufactures  his  Reapers,  not  on 
quite  so  large  a  scale  as  some  of  his  more  successful  imitators, 
for  he  does  a  portion  of  the  work  with  his  own  hand,  and,  like 
many  other  benefactors  of  his  race,  although  he  has  been  the 
cause  of  others  gaining  fortunes  by  his  machines,  we  believe  he 
has  not  himself  been  so  successful.  The  wheat-growers  of  this 
country,  whether  using  Hussey's  or  any  other  Reaper,  ought  to 
know  and  remember  how  much  they  are  indebted  to  this  humble 
mechanic  for  the  advantages  which  they  now  enjoy  in  being  able 
to  substitute  horse-power  for  manual  labor  in  cutting  grass  and 
grain.  At  the  South,  Hussey's  machines  are  more  generally  ap- 
proved than  McCormick's,  notwithstanding  the  latter  is  a  Vir- 
ginia invention,  and  took  the  great  medal  at  the  London  World's 
Fair.  In  some  respects,  and  in  some  situations,  one  is  better  than 
the  other,  yet  it  would  be  difficult  for  impartial  judges  to  decide 
which  par  excellence,  should  be  preferred,  where  both  are  so 
good.  This  and  McCormick's  are  considered  the  great  rival  ma- 
chines, in  consequence  of  the  glory  gained  in  England  and  the 
noise  made  in  the  world,  by  the  American  reapers.  The  price  of 
the  two  is  about  equal. 


68  THE  GREAT  EXHIBITION. 


Fairbanks'  Reaper  and  Mower  is  next  to  be  noticed.  What 
particular  superiority  this  machine  has  over  the  others  we  are  not 
able  to  discover,  unless  there  is  an  advantage  in  the  fact  that  the 
wheel  which  supports  the  end  next  the  standing  grain  is  larger. 
The  width  of  the  swath  appears  to  be  narrower  than  the  others, 
the  cutting  principle  the  same  as  all  the  others,  except  McCor- 
mick's.  The  inventor  is  evidently  indebted  to  Obed  Hussey  for 
the  idea  of  this  part  of  his  apparatus.  The  raker  sits  on  this  ma- 
chine riding  backward,  and  rakes  off  the  grain  at  the  side  behind 
the  horses. 

The  Self-Raking  Reaper  was  invented  by  Charles  Denton,  of 
Peoria,  111.,  and  is  manufactured  at  that  place  by  Gregg  Denton. 
This  is  the  second  machine  of  the  kind  ever  built ;  the  first,  which 
was  proved  in  last  year's  harvest,  has  been  sent  to  England,  to  be 
tried  and  patented  there.  The  cutting  principle  is  the  same  as 
Hussey's,  but  the  swath  is  eight  feet  wide.  The  grain  is  pressed 
up  to  the  knives  by  a  wheel  like  McCormick's,  and  falls  on  the 
platform  upon  a  cloth  band  which  carries  it  up  over  the  driving 
wheel  and  gearing,  and  drops  it  into  a  dumper  holding  enough 
lor  a  good  sized  bundle,  and  then  empties  itself  ready  for  the 
binder,  cutting  twenty-five  acres  a  day — the  team  required  is  four 
horses.  This  machine  seems  very  heavy,  but  the  inventor  claims 
that  in  consequence  of  being  supported  on  both  ends  by  wheels 
four  feet  in  diameter,  it  does  not  run  much  harder  than  the  nar- 
row machines,  and  that  four  horses  can  work  it  easier  than  two 
horses  can  any  other  yet  invented.  It  seems  peculiarly  adapted 
to  operate  on  the  vast  prairies  where  it  originated.  The  price  is 
not  yet  fixed,  but  it  is  thought  to  be  about  $160. 

The  Reaper  of  Seymour  &  Morgan,  Brockport,  N.  Y.,  here 
exhibited,  is  now  under  injunction  for  an  alleged  infringement 
of  McCormick's  patent.  The  principle  of  the  gearing  and  cut- 
ting is  much  alike  in  the  two  machines ;  there  is  in  each  the 
same  style  of  serrated  sickle- edged  knife,  working  between 
guiding  fingers,  the  wheat  being  pressed  up  to  the  knife  by  a 
reel.  The  cutting  edge  of  this  Reaper  is  a  little  wider,  and  is 
set  off  about  two  feet  further  from  the  gearing  than  Mr.  Mc- 
Cormick's.   The  raker  rides  at  the  back  of  the  platform,  push- 


REAPING,  MOWING,  AND  THRESHING  MACHINES.  «9 


ing  the  grain  off  with  a  fork  behind  the  horses,  so  that  it  is  out 
of  the  way  of  the  next  through. 

The  California  Reaper  is  only  the  model  of  an  immense  dou- 
ble machine,  represented  to  be  capable  of  cutting,  raking  and 
binding  the  wheat  all  at  the  same  operation.  Without  some 
further  information  than  can  be  obtained  from  the  model,  it  is 
impossible  to  learn  enough  about  its  working  to  give  our  read- 
ers any  practical  ideas.  The  cutting  is  upon  the  same  principle 
as  in  those  already  described. 

The  Horse  Cradle  is  the  name  we  should  give  the  model  of 
another  grain- cutter  here  exhibited.  Two  horizontal  cylinders, 
mounted  upon  a  pair  of  wheels,  are  geared  so  as  to  revolve  to- 
ward each  other.  The  cylinders,  we  believe,  are  to  be  four  feet 
^meter,  and  about  the  same  length.  On  the  bottom  of  each 
cylinder  a  set  of  knives,  like  short  sythe-blades,  are  set,  and 
out  of  the  surface  of  the  cylinder,  fingers  like  cradle-fingers 
project,  which  carry  the  grain  as  it  is  cut  by  the  knives  and  dis- 
charge it  behind.  What  is  to  become  of  it  then,  is  more  than 
the  model,  without  a  word  of  explanation,  makes  apparent. 
Col.  Johnson,  the  Superintendent  of  this  Department,  informed 
Us  that  the  exhibitor  assured  him  that  the  machine  had  worked 
successfully,  and  cut  the  grain  as  fast  as  any  other  machine 
with  one  horse.  The  model  exhibited  shows  it  is  intended  for 
only  one,  as  it  has  a  pair  of  thills,  which,  by-the-by,  like  the  pro- 
portion of  parts  of  a  great  many  models,  are  represented  about 
sixty  feet  long.  We  don't  know  the  inventor's  name,  as  he 
does  not  see  proper  to  inform  the  public  by  any  written  memo- 
randa who  he  is,  where  he  is,  or  what  his  machine  is  for.  And 
this  is  the  case  with  nearly  every  implement  in  the  Exhibition. 
There  is  nothing  to  indicate  to  a  visitor  whether  he  is  looking 
at  a  Reaping  Machine  or  some  contrivance  to  sweep  the  streets. 
We  heard  the  inquiry  made  fifty  times  while  persons  were  look- 
ing at  the  most  simple  farm  implement,  such  as  a  corn-sheller, 
44  What  is  this  f  A  man  who  had  lived  on  a  farm  all  his  life- 
time, and  kept  a  large  dairy,  did  not  know  what  a  self-acting 
cheese-press  was  for,  and  any  Hottentot  from  Africa  could  have 
given  quite  as  good  an  account  of  the  purpose  of  the  machine. 
Thousands  of  people  will  look  upon  these  things  who  cannot 


70 


THE  GREAT  EXHIBITION. 


tell  a  forming-mill  from  a  balloon,  or  a  corn-sheller  from  a  new 
patent  rat-trap.  Farmers  who  wish  to  buy  better  tools  will 
come  here  and  cast  their  eyes  upon  the  very  things  they  want 
without  knowing  it.  Exhibitors  need  not  say  they  are  stupid 
if  they  cannot  tell  what  such  common  things  are.  How  can 
they  tell  until  they  learn  1  Pray  what  do  you  exhibit  your 
goods  for?  We  need  not  tell  you,  but  we  will  tell  you,  that  it  1 
is  a  piece  of  excessive  stupidity  to  send  things  here  without  hav- 
ing the  name  of  every  article  just  as  plainly  printed  thereon  as 
you  are  careful  to  have  your  own.  There  is  no  interest  in 
looking  at  a  thing,  the  use  of  which  we  cannot  comprehend.  At 
the  very  moment  of  writing  these  notes,  a  woman,  who  looks 
like  a  farmer's  wife,  is  turning  a  sausage-meat  cutter  over  and 
over,  and  wondering  what  on  earth  it  can  be  for.  Her  hus- 
band is  equally  puzzled  with  a  new,  and,  as  we  think,  valuable 
improvement  in  the  threshing-machine — of  which  more  hereaf- 
ter. And  so  of  a  dozen  others  all  around  us,  looking  with  a 
sort  of  vacant  stare  at  things  whose  use  is  familiar  to  those 
who  sent  them  there,  for  the  purpose  it  would  seem  of  puzzling 
every  body  who  does  not  happen  to  possess  the  same  knowl- 
edge with  themselves.  It  is  no  excuse  that  things  are  not  yet 
arranged,  for  the  same  exhibitors  have  done  the  same  thing  for 
years.  It  is  full  time  that  they  were  taught  better  by  a  little 
gentle  castigation.  of  which  we  here  present  them  with  a  speci- 
men, to  be  renewed  from  time  to  time  until  the  lesson  is  taken 
to  heart  and  made  to  bear  practical  fruit. 

Next  after  the  Reapers  come  Threshing  Machines,  and  that 
of  Palmer  may  be  appropriately  named  first  in  the  list,  because 
it  is  a  recent  invention  and  novel  in  construction,  differing  in 
all  respects  totally  from  any  one  heretofore  invented  for  thresh- 
ing grain,  and  being  in  some  respects  as  greatly  in  advance  of 
all  others  as  the  ordinary  kind  is  in  advance  of  the  flail  or 
trampling  of  cattle.  It  does  not  thresh  by  a  spike-toothed 
cylinder  working  into  a  spiked  concave,  like  the  ordinary 
machine,  which  is  fed  by  a  man  who  stands  in  front,  feeding  it 
with  wheat  and  himself  with  dust,  to  which  is  sometimes  added 
a  flying  tooth  or  other  death-dealing  object.  The  grain  is  put 
into  this  machine  upon  aprons  on  both  sides,  as  fast  as  four 


REAPING,  MOWING,  AND  THRESHING  MACHINES.  11 


men  can  handle  the  unbound  sheaves,  which  pass  through  a  hole 
upon  each  side  of  the  case,  which  is  circular,  about  four  feet  in 
diameter  and  six  inches  thick,  the  hole  being  about  the  size  of  a 
bundle  of  grain,  and  situated  at  the  outer  edge  of  the  circle, 
about  half  the  height  from  the  ground.  Here  the  heads  of 
the  grain  are  struck  by  four  iron  arms  of  one  and  a  quarter 
inch  round  iron,  which  are  firmly  set  in  a  hub  that  is  made  to 
revolve  with  great  speed.  This  blow  or  blows,  falling  rapidly 
upon  the  heads  as  they  project  from  a  square  corner,  knocks 
out  a  great  portion  of  the  grain  ;  the  straw  is  then  carried  for- 
ward by  the  arms  through  the  lower  half  of  the  circle,  the  sides 
of  which  are  waved  plates  of  iron,  which  give  the  straw  a  tor- 
tuous motion,  whipping  it  from  side  to  side  until  every  kernel 
is  whipped  out.  The  straw  is  still  carried  forward  by  the  arms 
over  the  upper  part  of  the  circle  and  thrown  out  at  the  same 
side  it  entered,  a  little  above.  These  plates  are  adjustable,  so 
as  to  be  set  close  for  timothy,  or  wide  for  coarse  straw,  or  of 
wheat,  rye,  oats,  rice,  buckwheat,  or  peas,  either  of  which  it 
will  thresh  perfectly  clean.  This  machine,  as  exhibited  with  its 
most  elaborate  finish,  might  be  taken  as  a  mere  model  of  the 
conception  of  some  visionary  patentee,  but  such  is  not  the  case; 
numerous  machines  have  been  fully  tested  by  large  planters  in 
North  Carolina,  where  it  was  invented,  and  there  is  not  a 
shadow  of  doubt  upon  our  mind,  that  with  the  same  power,  this 
machine  will  thrash  more  grain  than  any  other ;  and  we  tliink 
no  one  who  has  had  much  experience  in  threshing,  can  examine 
this  model  without  coming  to  the  same  conclusion,  even  before 
he  sees  it  in  operation. 

We  beg  all  grain-growers  who  read  these  notes,  to  make  it  a 
point  to  see  this  new  thresher ;  and  we  beg  the  inventor  to 
put  a  card  upon  it,  to  tell  those  who  stare  with  wonder  at  it, 
without  knowing  what  it  is,  that  it  is  Palmer's  Threshing 
Machine. 

The  same  man  has  made  a  valuable  improvement  upon  the 
old-fashioned  spike  cylinder  machines,  to  prevent  danger  to  the 
person  tending  them,  when  a  stone  or  other  hard  substance 
happens  to  be  in  the  sheaf.  This  is  simply  by  cutting  off  the 
apron  just  before  it  reaches  the  cylinder,  so  that  all  heavy  sub- 


72 


THE  GREAT  EXHIBITION. 


stances  drop  down.  There  is  also  a  roller  in  front  of  the 
cylinder  to  prevent  whole  sheaves  from  passing,  or  the  feeder 
getting  his  hand  caught.  These  inventions  are  valuable  im- 
provements for  the  farmer,  and  this  inventor,  like  all  his  class, 
is  doing  more  good  to  others  than  himself.  At  least  do  him 
the  honor  to  examine  his  inventions. 

There  is  another  newly  invented  "machine  of  this  class,  the 
improvement  of  which  is  in  the  attached  apparatus  for  cleaning 
grain.  This  is  the  invention  of  E.  S.  Snyder,  of  Jefferson 
County,  Va.  It  is  known  as  the  "  Farmer's  Labor-Saving 
Machine,5'  being  designed  to  thresh,  clean,  and  put  the  wheat  in 
bags,  ready  measured  for  market,  all  at  one  operation.  The 
machine  exhibited  is  intended  for  two  horses,  and  is  represented 
as  being  capable  of  threshing  and  cleaning  one  hundred  bushels 
of  wheat  a  day.  This  we  do  not  doubt ;  but  that  it  will,  or  any 
two-horse  machine,  when  in  operation  on  the  farm,  continue  to 
do  as  much,  day  after  day,  we  shall  not  believe ;  because,  by 
somewhat  long  experience,  we  have  never  been  able  to  find 
such  an  one.  That  it  is  a  good  machine,  and  worthy  the  atten- 
tion of  farmers,  we  have  no  doubt,  and  hope  all  who  visit  the 
Palace  will  give  it  a  fair  examination. 

The  same  patentee  has  the  model  of  a  threshing  machine,  in 
which  the  cylinder  stands  upright.  This,  the  patentee  thinks, 
will  work  so  much  more  easily  than  the  horizontal  cylinder, 
that  it  will  save  the  power  of  one  horse  in  four.  The  plan  is 
worth  a  trial,  the  only  means  by  which  the  value  of  improve- 
ment in  all  machinery  is  determined. 

In  connection  with  these  threshers,  the  patentee  exhibits  a 
model  of  a  machine  much  needed  at  the  South.  It  is  intended 
to  separate  garlic  from  the  wheat,  which  no  common  cleaner 
will  do.  In  this  the  wheat  is  washed  and  the  garlic  taken  out, 
and  the  grain  dried  by  hot  air  or  steam.  It  can  be  operated  by 
hand,  horse,  or  any  other  power.  Planters  who  suffer  from 
this  pest  of  the  Southern  wheat-grower,  will  do  well  to  inquire 
into  this  machine. 

But  we  are  straying  from  the  subject  of  Threshers,  which  are 
well  represented  in  the  Exhibition.  Having  already  spoken  of 
several,  we  will  now  give  such  descriptions  of  others  as  will  en- 


REAPING,  MOWING,  AND  THRESHING  MACHINES.  ?f 

able  such  of  our  readers  as  may  not  be  familiar  with  this  kind 
of  labor-saving  farm  machinery,  to  judge  how  much  space  may 
be  required,  and  also  what  constitutes  a  threshing-machine,  or 
a  thresher  and  cleaner  combined. 

We  will  first  describe  one  of  medium  size  which  we  find  in 
the  collection  of  R.  L.  Allen,  on  the  north  side  of  the  gallery. 
This  is  simply  for  threshing  out  the  grain,  without  separating  it 
from  the  straw  and  chaff.  Machines  for  that  purpose  are  much 
used  by  large  wheat-growers  ;  some  of  them  depositing  it  in 
bags  ready  for  market. 

This  machine  is  a  stout  frame,  thirty -four  inches  high,  forty- 
six  inches  long,  and  twenty-eight  iriches  wide,  which  supports  a 
cylinder  twenty-three  inches  long  and  sixteen  inches  diameter, 
made  of  wood,  covered  with  sheet-iron,  in  the  periphery  of 
which  short  iron  teeth  are  set,  so  as  to  run  between  correspond- 
ing teeth  in  a  concave  bed.  This  is  called  an  under-shot  ma- 
chine. An  over-shot  one  has  a  similar  concave  cap  over  the 
cylinder.  This  cylinder  is  driven  with  great  speed  by  a  band 
running  over  a  pulley  on  the  end  of  the  stout  iron  shaft  upon 
which  it  runs.  The  bundles  of  grain,  with  the  bands  cut,  are 
laid  upon  a  platform  about  three  and  a  half  feet  long,  attached 
to  the  frame  in  front  of  the  cylinder  which  carries  them  through, 
and  out  at  the  other  end  of  the  machine,  where  the  straw  is 
raked  from  the  grain  by  hand,  or  sometimes  separated  by  ma- 
chinery attached  and  driven  in  connection  with  the  thresher. 
On  the  same  floor  is  a  machine  called  "  Gilbert's  Excelsior 
Thresher  and  Cleaner."  This  term,  excelsior,  so  often  misap- 
plied, means  "  more  lofty,  more  elevated,  higher  and  seems 
to  us  to  have  about  as  much  to  do  with  a  threshing  machine,  as 
with  the  pile  of  straw  after  being  threshed. 

The  frame  of  this  machine  is  necessarily  a-good  deal  higher 
than  the  other  one  described,  because  it  has  a  fanning-mill  di- 
rectly under  the  cylinder,  similar  in  all  respects  to  those  no- 
ticed in  a  former  article.  The  grain  and  straw  as  it  passes 
from  the  cylinder,  is  driven  upon  a  revolving  band  made  of 
small  sticks  somewhat  resembling  a  Venetian  window-blind, 
such  as  those  arranged  to  draw  up  by  cords  on  the  inside  of 
windows.    This  band  is  some  five  or  six  feet  long  on  its  upper 

4 


THE  GREAT  EXHIBITION. 


surface,  and,  as  the  straw  is  carried  up,  the  slight  inclination  at 
which  it  is  placed,  and  over  the  end,  where  it  falls  six  or  seven 
feet  to  the  ground,  the  grain  falls  through  the  slats  of  the  band 
on  to  the  screens  of  the  fanning-mill,  where  the  chaff  is  blown 
away,  and  the  grain  delivered  in  bags  for  market;  that  is,  in 
about  as  clean  a  state  as  slovenly  farmers  are  apt  to  send  it  to 
mill,  or  for  sale.  It  is  represented  that  a  No.  3  machine,  cost- 
ing $110,  will  thresh  and  clear  ten  or  twelve  hundred  bushels 
in  a  day,  with  two  horses.  If  it  will  do  three-quarters  of  that, 
the  purchaser  may  rest  assured  that  he  has  got  a  good  article. 

The  cylinder  is  driven  by  a  band,  and  the  straw-elevator  and 
fan  by  small  bands  from  the  cylinder,  so  that  all  operate  toge- 
ther from  the  same  power. 

The  peculiarity  in  this  threshing  machine,  and  upon  which 
the  inventor  claims  a  superiority  over  all  others,  is  in  the  for- 
mation of  the  threshing  cylinder,  which  certainly,  we  believe, 
unlike  any  of  the  somewhat  numerous  family.  It  is  thirty-one 
inches  long,  and  sixteen  inches  in  diameter,  measuring  from  the 
extremities  of  the  teeth,  and  is  composed  of  a  centre-shaft,  sur- 
rounded by  eight  round  bars,  which  support  five  teeth,  or  rather 
clusters  of  teeth,  to  each  bar.  These  clusters  are  made  of  a 
piece  of  thin  flat  bar-iron,  twro-and-a-half  inches  wide,  and  six- 
teen inches  long,  through  a  hole  in  the  centre  of  which  runs  the 
shaft,  and  equi-distant  on  each  side  a  smaller  bar.  Each  of  these 
flat  bars  has  two  pieces  riveted  on  each  side,  the  ends  of  each  cut 
into  four  saw-like  teeth,  and  each  plate  bent  out  from  the  other, 
thus  forming  the  cylinder  all  of  wrought  iron.  The  concave  is 
composed  of  eleven  three-quarter  inch  bars  of  square  iron, 
set  with  the  corners  to  the  teeth,  which  pass  very  close  to  their 
surface.  There  are  no  teeth  in  the  concave.  The  height  of  the 
cylinder  shaft  is  four  feet  three  inches  above  the  ground,  render- 
ing it  necessary  for  the  feeder  to  be  elevated.  The  width  of 
the  frame  is  three  feet  eight  inches,  and  its  length,  independent 
of  the  feeding  platform  and  straw-carrier,  four  feet  four  inches. 
The  height  from  the  ground  to  the  top  of  the  cap  over  the  cylin- 
der is  five  feet,  above  which  is  a  dust-chimney,  which  may 
sometimes  benefit  the  feeder  a  little. 

Never  having  seen  this  machine  in  operation,  we  cannot  ex- 


REAPING,  MOWING,  AND  THRESHING  MACHINES.  15 


press  ourselves  quite  as  sanguinely  as  the  inventor,  that  it  is 
the  best  of  all,  not  only  in  the  Exhibition,  but  out  of  it.  The 
opinion  of  several  gentlemen  of  good  judgment,  who  have  ex- 
amined the  machine,  without  seeing  it  work,  is  that  it  will 
break  the  grains  of  wheat.  If  it  does  that  any  worse  than  any 
other  thresher,  it  will  spoil  it  for  seed.  Our  impression  is  that 
it  will  not.  However,  it  is  our  candid  opinion,  from  long  and 
careful  examination,  that  about  one-fourth  of  the  grains  of  wheat, 
and  those  of  the  largest  size,  are  ruined  for  seed,  in  their  pas- 
sage through  any  threshing  machine.  We  believe  every  grain 
that  is  struck  a  fair  blow  by  one  of  the  teeth  has  its  germinating 
power  destroyed,  Even  when  it  shows  no  external  breakage. 
And  this,  in  our  judgment,  is  one  of  the  causes  of  degeneracy  in 
many  sections  of  the  country  in  the  quality  of  this  grain.  It 
has  long  been  remarked  by  wheat-growers,  that  it  is  not  as 
round  and  plump  as  it  used  to  be.  It  is  also  a  subject  of  re- 
mark that  it  takes  more  seed  lately  to  produce  the  same  crop, 
than  it  used  to  do  thirty  years  ago.  We  meet  now  occasionally 
with  an  old  farmer  who  contends  fur  three  pecks  of  seed  to  the 
acre,  because  that  used  to  be  sufficient.  But  that  was  when 
threshing  was  all  done  by  flails,  as  all  wheat  for  seed  should  be 
threshed.  This  is  a  subject  worthy  of  very  serious  considera- 
tion by  all  formers. 

We  hope  wheat-growers  will  give  the  machine  above  described 
a  share  of  their  attention,  because  it  is  something  new,  and  may 
be  thought,  on  examination,  better  than  any  of  its  predecessors. 
They  wrill  find  it  in  the  extreme  end  of  the  agricultural  gallery, 
next  to  the  reservoir ;  and  in  the  same  vicinity  they  will  find 
another,  called  Hathaway's  Combined  Machine  for  threshing, 
separating  and  cleaning  all  kinds  of  grain,  clover,  and  grass-seed. 
The  inventor,  like  all  other  inventors,  says,  "  its  capacity  for 
threshing  excels  all  others  now  in  use."  So  it  does,  if  it  will 
thresh  and  clean,  as  he  states,  "  six  to  eight  hundred  bushels  of 
wheat  per  day."  The  machine  is  undoubtedly  a  good  one,  and, 
with  very  short  straw,  in  good  condition,  may  be  made  to  thresh 
eight  hundred  bushels  in  a  long  day,  with  double  sets  of  teams 
and  hands.  But  that  is  not  a  fair  day's  work  of  any  threshing- 
machine,  and  the  public  should  not  be  told  so.    The  story  is  too 


76 


THE  GREAT  EXHIBITION. 


big  for  one  who  has  had  as  much  to  do  with  threshing-machines 
as  the  writer  of  this  article. 

The  dimensions  of  Hathaway' s  machine  are  as  follows  : 
Height  of  frame,  forty-nine  inches  ;  height  of  cap  over  cylin- 
der, twelve  inches  ;  height  of  edge  of  feeding-apron,  fifty-one 
inches  ;  height  of  extreme  end  of  straw-carrier,  eight  feet  ;  width 
of  frame,  forty-one  inches  ;  extreme  length  of  machine,  fifteen 
feet.  There  is  a  little  contrivance  for  cleaning  out  the  straw  that 
falls  through  the  slats  of  the  carrier,  which  will  be  very  useful. 
It  is  a  band,  with  small  iron-teeth,  which  runs  crosswise  through 
the  machine,  between  the  upper  and  under  part  of  the  carrier. 

The  threshing-cylinder  is  driven  by  a  band,  and  bands  from 
the  cylinder-shaft  drive  the  fanning-mill  and  straw-carrier.  This 
is  as  well  made  a  machine  as  there  is  in  the  Exhibition.  It  is 
strong  where  strength  is  needed  ;  and  where  light-wood  will  an- 
swer, pine  is  used ;  in  other  places,  oak.  The  inventor  says  it 
will  clean  clover-seed  to  perfection.  If  it  will,  that  will  add  to 
its  value.  It  will  be  well  for  all  who  feel  an  interest  in  such 
things,  to  compare  these  two  machines,  one  having  the  common 
cylinder  with  spike-teeth,  and  the  other  those  very  singular  ones 
described. 

On  the  lower  floor,  next  to  the  machine-arcade,  stands  another 
thresher  and  cleaner,  called  "  Moffat's  Patent,"  from  Piqua,  Ohio, 
which  differs  from  any  of  its  predecessors — so  much  so,  as  to  be 
well  worth  careful  attention.  We  will  endeavor  to  describe  it, 
so  that  our  readers  can  form  some  idea  of  its  appearance  and 
dimensions  : 

The  cylinder  is  thirty  inches  long  and  sixteen  in  diameter.  It 
is  made  of  eight  flat  bars  of  iron,  half  inch  by  two  inches,  fast- 
ened upon  iron  heads  with  four  strong  iron  bands.  In  each  of 
these  bars  are  seventeen  flat  teeth,  fastened  by  nuts  on  the  ends, 
on  the  back-side  of  the  bars.  The  teeth  pass  between  one  row 
of  teeth  in  the  concave,  which  is  made  of  bars  of  iron,  open  so 
the  grain  may  fall  through.  The  shaft  of  the  cylinder  is  thirty- 
four  inches  above  the  ground,  and  is  driven  by  a  spur-wheel  on 
the  left  hand  side  of  the  machine,  which  works  into  a  pinion  on 
the  cylinder-shaft.  On  the  right  of  the  machine  is  a  bevel-pinion, 
upon  the  end  of  the  shaft  which  supports  the  spur-wheel,  which 


REAPING,  MOWING,  AND  THRESHING  MACHINES.  77 


is  driven  by  a  wheel  set  at  right- angles  upon  a  short  shaft,  to 
which  the  power  is  connected  by  a  universal  joint.  The  width 
of  the  frame  is  forty  inches  ;  height  over  top  of  cylinder,  forty-two 
inches  ;  height  of  straw-carrier  at  extreme  end,  six  and  a  half 
feet ;  extreme  length  of  machine,  nineteen  feet.  The  straw- 
carrier  is  made  of  round  rods  and  iron  links,  so  as  to  form  an 
endless  band.  Underneath  the  straw-carrier,  there  are  two 
screws,  six  feet  long,  eight  inches  diameter,  running  in  sheet-iron 
troughs,  which  carry  up  the  grain  and  chaff  that  falls  through 
the  concave  and  short  of  the  straw-carrier,  and  drops  it  upon  the 
screen  of  the  fanning-mill,  which  is  under  the  back  end  of  the 
machine.  On  the  left  side  of  the  frame,  there  is  another  similar 
screw  on  the  reverse  angle,  which  brings  back  from  the  fanning- 
mill  the  unthreshed  heads,  and  drops  them  into  a  spout  which 
leads  them  back  to  the  threshing-cylinder.  There  is  another 
screw,  running  across  under  the  fan-mill  screen,  which  brings  the 
clean  grain  out  through  a  spout  on  the  right  side  of  the  frame,  to 
which  a  bag  may  be  attached,  and,  for  aught  we  know,  tied  up 
after  it  is  filled  without  the  aid  of  hands. 

There  is  a  wheel  over  the  straw-carrier  that  assists  to  push 
up  the  load.  The  fanning-mill  is  in  the  usual  form,  similar  to 
those  described  to  work  by  hand.  The  objection  we  have  to  this 
machine  is,  that  it  has  too  much  machinery — is  too  complicated, 
and  probably  too  expensive,  and  requires  too  much  power.  If 
driven  with  sufficient  power,  it  will  undoubtedly  do  good  work, 
and  a  good  deal  of  it ;  but  we  prefer  a  more  simple  machine, 
even  if  it  should  not  be  so  effective. 

In  the  Canadian  Department,  there  is  another  thresher  and 
cleaner,  hailing  from  Brantford,  Canada,  which  will  undoubtedly 
strike  the  fancy  of  some  visitors,  because  it  is  much  lower  than 
either  of  the  others,  and  apparently  more  convenient.  The  height 
of  the  edge  of  the  feeding-apron  is  only  forty  inches  from  the 
ground.  The  height  of  cylinder-shaft  is  only  thirty-three  inches. 
Diameter  of  cylinder,  sixteen  inches  ;  length,  thirty-two  inches. 
It  is  made  somewhat  like  Moffat's,  only  the  bars  are  broader  and 
thinner  ;  the  teeth  are  two  and  a  half  inches  long,  about  three- 
quarters  of  an  inch  square  at  the  butt,  flattened  out  toward  the 
end  to  three  quarters  of  an  inch,  and  turned  back  hooked,  for 


78 


THE  GREAT  EXHIBITION. 


strength,  and  giving  but  a  very  small  surface  to  strike  the  grain 
The  concave  is  cast-iron,  with  small  teeth.  The  width  of  th  - 
frame  is  forty  inches  ;  height,  thirty-three  inches  ;  height  of  ex- 
treme end  of  straw-carrier,  six  feet ;  extreme  length  of  whole 
machine,  seventeen  feet.  There  is  a  double  apron  to  carry  th< 
straw  and  grain,  the  upper  one  of  small,  square  rods,  on  leather 
bands,  at  each  end  ;  the  under  one  flat  slats  set  edgewise  on  a 
cloth  band,  so  that  all  the  grain,  falling  through  the  open  work 
of  the  straw-carrier,  is  taken  by  the  grain-carrier,  dropped  down 
upon  the  shaking-screen  of  the  fanning-mill,  which  is  at  the  end 
opposite  the  cylinder.  The  thresher  is  driven  by  a  band,  and  the 
other  parts  by  bands  from  the  cylinder-shaft.  This  has  the  ap- 
pearance of  being  a  very  strong,  simple,  effective,  good  machine. 

We  have  now  given  our  readers,  we  think,  such  information  as 
will  enable  them  to  understand  these  very  great  labor-saving  im- 
plements. The  price  varies  from  thirty-five  to  probably  one  hun- 
dred and  fifty  dollars  for  some  of  the  largest.  We  hope  all  grain- 
growers  will  give  the  machines  we  describe  a  careful  examination 
when  they  visit  the  Exhibition,  and  not  take  our  word  for  any 
one,  as  it  is  not  our  intention  to  commend  one  above  another,  but 
simply  to  describe  them  in  such  a  manner  as  to  attract  the  notice 
of  those  who  are  interested,  and  set  them  to  thinking  and  in- 
quiring which  is  best,  or  whether  it  would  not  be  more  to  their 
interest  to  purchase  some  of  the  good  new  machinery  lately  in- 
vented to  facilitate  the  labors  of  agriculture,  than  it  is  to  continue 
to  use  the  old  tools  of  their  fathers  and  grandfathers'  time.  Al- 
though we  contend  that  seed- wheat  should  be  threshed  by  flails, 
we  know  that  no  farmer  can  be  successful  in  growing  rich  by 
raising  grain,  who  adheres  to  that  antiquated  fashion.  Farmers 
should  try  to  inform  themselves,  in  some  way,  whether  it  is  for 
their  interest  to  continue  to  beat  out  their  seed  by  flails,  or  tramp 
it  out  by  horses,  when  they  can  so  easily  procure  a  machine  that 
will  do  the  work  so  much  faster  and  cheaper.  In  what  way  can 
they  gain  that  information  so  cheaply  as  by  visiting  this  Exhibi- 
tion, with  this  paper  in  their  hand,  and  thus  giving  each  machine 
a  most  careful  and  scrutinizing  examination  ?    See  for  themselves 

 take  no  one's  opinion  as  an  ipse  dixit  upon  anything  they  see, 

until  they  can  satisfy  themselves  by  the  exercise  of  their  own 


REAPING,  MOWING,  AND  THRESHING  MACHINES.  *79 


judgment  that  the  article  before  them  is  well  calculated  to  per- 
form all  that  the  builder  claims  for  it. 

Farmers  should  visit  the  Exhibition  with  particular  reference 
to  the  Agricultural  Department,  and  for  the  purpose  of  making 
careful  examination  of  implements  that  are  new  to  them,  and 
they  certainly  will  find  a  great  many  which  they  are  as  wholly 
unacquainted  with  as  though  they  had  not  been  all  their  lives 
tillers  of  the  soil. 

It  is  true  that  this  part  of  the  Palace  is  not  as  well  filled  as  we 
had  good  reason  to  expect,  from  the  large  number  of  agricultural 
implement  manufacturers  which  have  lately  sprung  into  existence 
in  the  United  States.  There  are  four  or  five  establishments,  some 
of  which  are  doing  a  very  large  business  in  this  city,  engaged  ex- 
clusively in  making  and  vending  farming-tools,  who  are  exhibitors, 
and  whose  warehouses,  always  open  to  visitors,  contain  almost  as 
great  a  show,  in  their  line,  as  the  Crystal  Palace. 


80 


THE  GREAT  EXHIBITION. 


VII. 
PLOWS. 

In  ascending  the  great  stairway  from  the  dome,  leading  north- 
east, on  your  way  to  the  gallery  of  the  Agricultural  Department, 
the  visitor  will  find  in  the  angle,  between  the  two  nights  of  stairs, 
a  collection  of  Plows  from  one  of  the  oldest  and  largest  manufac- 
tories in  the  United  States,  among  which  are  some  of  the  best, 
perhaps,  that  he  has  ever  met  with.  On  examination  he  will 
notice  upon  the  inside  of  the  mold-board  of  every  one,  the  name 
of  J.  JNTourse,  who  is  the  senior  partner  of  Messrs.  Huggles, 
Nourse,  Mason  &  Co.,  of  Worcester  and  Boston.  Their  names 
are  almost  world-renowned  as  manufacturers  of  this  indispensable 
farm  implement.  Mr.  Nourse  was  one  of  the  first  to  improve  the 
plow  upon  scientific  principles,  having  been  more  than  a  quarter 
of  a  century  engaged  in  the  business  ;  first  as  an  apprentice  to  his 
father,  and  afterward  devoting  many  of  the  best  years  of  his  life, 
and  the  strong  energies  of  a  mind  determined  to  succeed  in  pro- 
ducing a  perfect  plow,  of  every  size  and  shape  required.  Hence 
his  partners  have  nobly  determined  that  his  name  shall  be  known 
and  remembered  by  every  one  as  a  man  justly  entitled  to  be  hon- 
ored by  every  American  farmer. 

Probably  the  first  plow  that  will  attract  attention  in  this  col- 
lection is  that  numbered  77,  because  it  is  the  largest  and  the  last 
perfected.  The  beam  is  five  feet  long,  and  the  whole  length 
from  end  of  handle  to  point  of  beam  nine  feet.  These  are  made 
of  the  best  of  tough  oak  and  ash  timber,  all  the  rest  of  the  plow 
being  made  of  refined  cast-iron,  the  cutting-edges  cold-chilled  in 
the  mould  till  they  are  harder  than  tempered  cast-steel.  This  is 
called  the  deep-tiller  and  sod-plow.  It  is  intended  to  turn  a  fur- 
row from  nine  to  thirteen  inches  deep  and  fifteen  to  seventeen 
inches  wide  ;  and  such  is  the  perfection  of  its  construction  that  it 
can  be  done  easily  by  two  yoke  of  oxen,  such  as  are  in  common 


PLOWS 


81 


use  all  over  the  New-England  States.  If  the  soil  is  very  stiff  and 
hard,  an  extra  yoke  is  added.  At  the  end  of  the  "beam  there  is  a 
cast-iron  wheel,  hy  which  the  required  depth  is  guaged.  The 
draft  is  from  a  rod  attached  to  the  beam  at  the  standard  and 
leading  under  the  beam  through  a  guide,  by  a  screw  upon  which 
the  rod  can  be  raised  or  lowered  four  or  five  niches,  thus  varying 
the  line  of  draft.  Between  the  wheel  and  share  a  coulter  is  fixed, 
with  a  sharp  steel  edge.  From  the  point  of  the  share  to  the  heel, 
along  the  land  side,  it  measures  three  feet ;  width  across  the  heel, 
15  inches  ;  across  the  whig,  22  inches  ;  from  the  point  to  upper 
angle  of  the  wing,  4  feet  5  inches  ;  height  of  standard  to  under 
side  of  the  beam,  19J  inches.  The  handles  are  braced  with  iron 
rods,  and  the  whole  is  made  as  strong  as  wood  and  iron  combined 
can  effect.  No  doubt,  those  who  read  about  this  iron  plow  will 
naturally  imagine  it  must  be  a  very  ponderous  article,  and  many 
of  those  who  looked  at  it  while  we  were  present,  thought  it  was 
too  heavy  for  one  man  to  handle.  To  satisfy  them  of  their  mis- 
calculation, we  had  scales  brought  up,  and  the  weight  ascer- 
tained to  be  only  205  pounds.  This  lightness  is  produced  by  the 
most  careful  and  exact  calculations  in  making  the  patterns,  so  as 
to  dispense  with  every  grain  of  iron  not  necessary  to  the  perfect 
construction  of  the  implement.  You  can  hardly  imagine  the  per- 
fection of  the  curves  of  the  mold-board,  until  you  apply  a  two- 
foot  rule  upon  its  polished  surface,  in  the  direction  of  the  line  of 
draft,  and  find  that  it  touches  the  whole  length.  All  parts  of 
the  iron  subject  to  friction  are  ground  smooth  before  leaving  the 
factory. 

The  minute  description  of  this  plow  will  serve  for  all.  Con- 
stant improvements  are  made,  perhaps  trifling  in  appearance,  in 
fact  really  imperceptible  to  the  casual  observer,  yet,  by  the  mere 
change  of  one-eighth  of  an  inch  in  the  curve  of  the  mold-board,  a 
vast  saving  of  labor  to  the  team  is  effected. 

Not  finding  in  this  collection  one  of  the  smallest  sized  cast-iron 
plows,  we  procured  one  known  as  No.  60,  from  among  the  plows 
of  R.  L.  Allen,  of  this  city,  to  weigh  in  contrast  with  the  large 
one  described,  and  found  the  weight  only  39  pounds.  This  is  a 
plow  much  used  by  cotton  and  corn  planters  in  the  light  lands  of 
the  South,  where  more  land  is  plowed  less,  than  more  than  two 

4* 


S2 


THE  GREAT  EXHIBITION. 


inches  deep.  The  price  of  the  large  plow  is  $19 — the  price  of 
the  small  one,  less  than  that  for  a  dozen.  The  dimensions  of  this 
small  one-horse  plow  is  five  feet  from  point  of  heam  to  end  of 
handles  ;  length  from  point  to  heel  on  the  land  side,  one  foot  six 
inches  ;  same  length  from  point  to  upper  angle  of  wing  ;  height 
of  standard,  14£  inches..  Between  this  and  the  first,  there  is  to 
be  seen  almost  every  size  and  shape  that  could  be  wished  for. 
There  is  one  of  the  same  style  and  general  appearance  with  that 
first  described,  known  as  deep  tiller  No.  71  J,  with  wheel  and 
cutter,  but  with  a  dial  clevis  instead  of  centre-draft  rod,  and  much 
lighter,  weighing  only  108  lbs.,  and  which  was  designed  ex- 
pressly for  plowing  loose,  porous,  dry,  sandy  and  gravelly  loams. 
Its  mold-board  has  a  long,  gentle  curvature,  and  turns  sod  fur- 
rows five  to  eight  inches  deep  and  eleven  to  thirteen  inches  wide, 
with  such  a  long,  easy  twist  that,  notwithstanding  the  friable 
nature  of  the  soil,  the  furrow-slice  is  completely  rolled  over,  bury- 
ing the  grass,  or  weeds  and  stubble,  and  still  leaving  the  surface 
in  a  measure  compact,  and  in  much  better  condition  than  it  would 
be  if  plowed  with  No.  70,  which  is  made  expressly  for  the  pur- 
pose of  stirring  up  stiff  soils  and  leaving  them  in  a  light,  mellow 
condition.  Such  soils  as  No.  71^-  was  made  to  plow,  require  to 
be  laid  over  in  perfectly  flat  furrows,  with  the  edges  closely 
matched,  and  the  natural  cohesion  of  the  parts  preserved,  thus 
promoting  condensation  rather  than  evaporation  of  moisture. 
This  tends  to  prevent  the  withering  influences  of  our  excessive 
drouths ;  and  yet,  from  the  depth  of  the  furrow  of  such  a  plow 
the  earth  is  in  fine  condition  for  growing  plants.  In  direct  con- 
tact with  the  above  are  the  stubble-plows,  Nos.  31  to  39.  They 
are  made  with  high  standards — that  is,  high  beams,  and  short- 
high  mold-boards,  and  wide  hi  the  heel,  by  which  the  furrow- 
slice  is  broken  up  in  such  a  manner  that  the  course  of  the  fur- 
rows is  indistinguishable,  though  from  five  to  ten  inches  deep  and 
ten  to  thirteen  inches  wide.  Some  of  this  class  of  plows  were 
got  up  expressly  for  the  use  of  broom  com  growers,  by  which 
they,  can  effectually  bury  stubble  and  stalks  beneath  the  surface. 

Another  implement,  which  promises  to  be  very  useful,  is 
called  the  Double  Plow,  or  sod  and  subsoil  combined ;  known 
in  some  parts  of  the  country  as  the  Michigan  Plow.    Its  pecu- 


PLOWS. 


63 


liarity  consists  in  this :  upon  the  beam  about  w  here  the  cutter 
or  coulter  is  usually  fixed,  there  is  a  common  cast-iron  plow- 
share, which  cuts  and  turns  the  sod  any  required  depth,  while 
the  main  share  takes  up  the  earth  from  the  bottom  of  the  fur- 
row, four  or  five  inches  deeper,  and  lays  it  in  a  completely  pul- 
verized state  on  the  top  of  the  inverted  sod.  This  Plow 
attracts  a  good  deal  of  attention,  and,  generally,  commendatory 
remarks.  Another  exhibitor  has  given  a  prominent  position  to 
one  of  the  same  sort,  which  the  original  inventor  thinks  is  a 
plagiarism  upon  his;  or  at  any  rate  so  nearly  like  it,  that,  with- 
out the  original,  the  other  would  never  have  been  conceived. 

The  subsoil  plow  is  so  little  known  to  a  majority  of  those 
who  till  American  soil,  that  a  more  particular  description  and 
slight  history  of  its  introduction  will  be  found  interesting.  In 
the  year  1840,  Messrs.  Ruggles,  Nourse,  Mason  &  Co.  imported 
from  Scotland  the  first  subsoil  plow  ever  seen  in  the  United 
States.  It  was  a  complicated,  expensive,  cumbrous  affair,  as 
most  of  the  Scotch  plows  are,  and  could  not  be  patterned  after 
with  any  hope  of  successful  introduction  among  farmers.  Feel- 
ing satisfied  of  the  benefits  that  would  result  to  them  from  the 
use  of  a  good  subsoil  plow,  that  good  genius  of  American  farm- 
ers, Joel  Nourse,  set  his  mind  to  work  and  produced  one,  more 
simple,  lighter,  and  cheaper  than  the  imported  article.  It  was 
tried,  proved  satisfactory,  and  the  manufacture  of  various  sizes, 
suited  to  a  team  of  one  to  six  horses,  soon  introduced  this  new 
farm  implement  to  the  notice  of  many  farmers  who  never  had 
seen  or  heard  of  the  thing  before,  but  soon  learned  to  profit  by 
its  use.  This  plow  has  no  mold-board;  the  use  of  it  is  to  enter 
the  bottom  of  the  ordinary  furrow,  and  stir  up  and  pulverize 
the  hard  subsoil  from  four  to  twenty-four  inches  deep.  Upon 
this  the  next  round  of  the  turning  plow  lays  its  usual  thickness 
of  furrow-slice,  thus  doubling  the  depth  of  tilth.  It  is  especially 
valuable  in  land  which  has  a  natural  hard-pan,  or  in  which  one 
has  been  formed  by  the  trampling  of  the  plow-team,  or  the 
sliding  of  that  instrument  for  a  hundred  years  on  the  bottom 
of  furrows  always  plowed  just  the  same  depth.  Some  idea  can 
be  formed  of  the  shape  of  this  plow  by  supposing  the  land  side 
of  the  common  cast-iron  one  continued  in  a  smooth  plate  up  to 


^4 


THE  GREAT  EXHIBITION. 


the  beam,  the  handles  being  riveted  upon  that,  like  those  of  a 
common  shovel-plow.  On  the  mold-board  side  of  this  plate, 
there  is  a  shelf  projecting  a  couple  of  inches,  running  in  a  gently 
inclined  plane  from  the  lance-head-like  point  to  the  heel,  pro- 
ducing exactly  the  effect  that  a  wedge  would  do  if  drawn 
through  the  earth,  lifting  it  up  and  dropping  it  over  the  butt, 
which  is  two  to  four  inches  high.  Such  is  the  subsoil  plow,  in 
use  in  most  of  the  Northern  States ;  and  from  its  efficiency, 
strength,  ease  of  draught,  and  cheapness,  (from  five  to  fifteen  dol- 
lars,) it  was  thought  that  perfection  had  been  obtained  in  that 
farm  implement.  Not  so.  For  this  very  reason  these  great 
plow-makers  have  brought  out  a  new  subsoil  plow,  as  much 
more  simple  than  their  first  one,  as  that  is  more  simple  than  its 
Scotch  prototype,  and  yet  more  effective,  and  not  requiring 
more  than  one-half  the  force  to  propel  it ;  besides  which,  it  is  a 
self-sharpener. 

A  perfect  idea  of  the  shape  of  this  plow  can  be  got  in  the 
way  it  was  first  obtained  by  Professor  Mapes,  to  whom  are  the 
manufacturers  indebted  for  the  original,  by  taking  a  piece  of 
paper  twice  as  long  as  wide,  and  folding  it  first  end  to  end, 
then  side  to  side,  then  cut  off  the  corners  from  side  to  end-fold ; 
now  make  a  slight  lap  at  the  side-folds  and  lay  it  down  upon 
the  table ;  the  edges  will  touch  all  round,  while  the  middle  is 
slightly  elevated.  Now  fancy  a  smooth  piece  of  hardened  cast- 
iron  of  this  shape,  twenty  inches  long  and  seven  and  a  quarter 
wide,  with  an  upright  part,  eighteen  inches  high,  made  broad 
and  thin,  with  edges  alike,  so  that  it  makes  no  difference  which 
goes  forward,  screwed  to  a  beam,  five  feet  long,  with  handles 
four  feet  long,  bolted  upon  the  sides  of  the  beam,  held  in  place 
by  an  iron  supporter,  with  a  centre-draft  rod  and  dial  clevis, 
movable  four  or  five  inches  up  or  down,  or  upon  either  side, 
and  theNvhole  only  weighing  eighty-four  pounds,  and  yet  strong 
enough  for  two  yoke  of  oxen,  but  not  of  too  heavy  a  draft  for 
one  yoke,  when  run  up  to  the  beam  in  the  ground,  producing 
such  an  effect  as  to  shake  bushes  or  plants  several  feet  upon 
each  side,  and  you  will  have  some  idea  of  a  new  subsoil  plow, 
now  publicly  exhibited  for  the  first  time. 

By  the  side  of  this  last-described  implement  stands  another 


PLOWS. 


85 


which,  from  the  oddity  of  its  appearance  to  a  very  large  por- 
tion of  those  who  have  been  acquainted  with  these  farm  tools 
all  their  lives,  attracts  a  great  deal  of  attention.  This  is  nothing 
more  nor  less  than  the  common  Scotch  plow,  in  almost  univer- 
sal use  in  its  own  country.  It  is  made  all  of  wrought  iron  ;  the 
beam  and  handles,  which  are  almost  on  a  line,,  giving  it  an 
appearance  of  great  length,  are  ten  feet  four  inches — the  beam 
five  feet,  and  right-hand  handle,  from  where  it  is  bolted  to  the 
mold-board  to  the  upper  end,  is  seven  feet.  From  heel  to 
point,  on  the  land  side,  two  feet  ten  inches ;  from  point  to 
upper  angle  of  wing,  three  feet  seven  inches ;  width  of  heel, 
eight  inches  ;  width  from  land  side  to  point  of  wing,  one  foot 
seven  inches  ;  length  of  standard,  fourteen  inches.  There  is  no 
wood,  except  the  end  of  the  handles,  in  its  construction,  which 
is  the  case  with  all  iron  plows.  The  weight  of  this  plow  is 
two  hundred  and  seven  pounds — two  pounds  more  than  the  one 
first  described,  which  will  cut  a  furrow  about  double  the  size  of 
this;  and  some,  who  have  tried  both,  say  with  the  same  team. 

The  next  curious  affair  in  this  collection  is  the  side-hill  plow. 
It  is  so  contrived  that  by  unhooking  a  stout  hook  and  a  little 
exertion  of  the  plowman,  while  the  team  is  coming  about,  the 
whole  share,  mold-board  and  all  together,  is  rolled  over,  and 
again  fastened  with  the  hook,  so  that  the  furrow  is  turned  the 
other  way.  These  are  made  of  different  sizes,  turning  a  sod 
from  five  to  seven  inches  deep  and  ten  or  twelve  inches  wide, 
and,  notwithstanding  their  awrkward  appearance,  work  equally 
well  on  level  or  hill-side  land.  The  same  scale  of  proportions 
and  carefully  laid  down  principles,  in  regard  to  curved  lines,  is 
preserved  in  all  the  plows  coming  from  this  manufactory  ;  so 
that  all  work  alike  as  to  tractile  force,  whether  great  or  small, 
according  to  the  work  required  of  each  kind. 

With  a  side-hill  plow,  the  plowman  may  commence  on  the 
lower  edge  of  a  hill-side,  turning  all  the  furrows  down  the 
slope,  going  back  and  forth,  changing  his  plow  to  the  right  and 
left  at  the  end  of  each  furrow,  or  in  the  same  wray  he  may  plow 
a  level  field. 

Another  side-hill  plow  stands  just  across  the  stairway  towrard 
the  dome  from  the  last  described,  which  attracts  much  notice 


86 


THE  GREAT  EXHIBITION. 


from  its  curious,  unique  appearance  and  neat  construction.  It 
is  all  iron,  stands  on  a  bench  flanked  by  two  others  of  the  same 
material,  in  the  common  form  of  turning  plows. 

The  peculiarity  of  this  side-hill  plow  is,  that  the  beam  and 
handles  together  turn  round  upon  a  pivot  formed  of  the  top  of 
the  standard.  The  share  has  a  straight  land-side,  two  feet  ten 
inches  long,  with  points  at  each  end  exactly  alike.  Suppose 
you  are  turning  a  right  hand  furrow,  and  wish  to  change  to  the 
left,  you  give  a  rod  under  the  right  handle  a  little  jog,  which 
unlooses  a  catch,  and  you  wralk  round  with  the  handle  in  your 
hand  till  the  beam  points  directly  the  other  way ;  now  pull  the 
rod  and  close  the  catch,  stoop  over  and  give  the  mold-board  a 
flap,  and  it  turns  back  bottom  up,  disclosing  another  under  it 
exactly  like  the  other,  also  bottom  up  and  pointing  forward  ; 
turn  this  also,  and  you  have  before  you  as  neat  looking  a  plow 
as  you  will  find  in  the  Exhibition,  the  reversed  mold-board 
lying  under  the  other,  quite  out  of  the  way,  and  the  reverse 
point  forming  the  heel  of  the  land  side.  The  length  of  the 
beam  is  four  feet ;  handles,  four  feet  six  inches ;  width  of  share, 
nine  inches;  length  from  point  to  upper  angle  of  wing,  two  feet 
nine  inches ;  length  of  wing  from  the  joint  to  upper  end,  one 
foot  seven  inches;  height  of  standard,  one  foot  two* inches; 
height  of  fin-cutter,  nine  inches.  The  weight  not  ascertained, 
but,  from  the  neatness  and  perfect  workmanship,  we  judge  it  is 
light  for  an  iron  plow  of  the  same  cutting  width. 

There  is  one  defect  in  the  one  exhibited,  which  is  easily 
remedied.  The  pintle  upon  which  the  beam  turns  around  is 
not  strong  enough  ;  and  it  should  be  made  with  a  shoulder  for 
the  nut  to  screw  down  upon  without  touching  the  beam.  It  is 
a  recent  invention,  the  patent  bearing  date  the  present  month, 
granted  to  L.  Hall,  of  Pittsburgh,  Pa.  This  plan  completely 
obviates  the  objection  to  the  other  side-hill  plow,  that  is,  that  it 
requires  a  very  strong  man  to  hold  it,  or  rather  to  shift  the 
share  which  rolls  under,  in  changing  from  side  to  side.  This 
turning-beam  plow  can  be  operated  by  a  small  boy,  and  we 
cannot  help  thinking  will  prove  a  very  acceptable  improve- 
ment to  the  large  number  of  persons  interested,  who,  in  their 
visits  to  the  Exhibition,  we  hope  will  give  it  a  critical  exami- 
nation. 


OTHER  AGRICULTURAL  IMPLEMENTS. 


87 


VIII. 

OTHER  AGRICULTURAL  IMPLEMENTS. 

Among  the  many  inventions  and  contrivances  for  the  use  of 
farmers  exhibited,  are  several  not  fair]y  embraced  within  the 
foregoing  classes,  yet  which  seem  worthy  at  least  of  considera- 
tion.   We  now  proceed  to  speak  of  them. 

One  of  the  new  things  which  seems  to  attract  the  most  ob- 
servers, is  Atkins's  Automaton  Raker— one  of  the  most  simple 
and  yet  most  effective  pieces  of  machinery  we  ever  saw  in  ope- 
ration.   It  was  invented  last  year  by  Jearum  Atkins,  of  Chi- 
cago, a  bed-ridden  cripple,  who  had  not  been  in  a  harvest-field 
for  years,  and  who  has  never  yet  been  able  to  witness  the  ope- 
ration of  his  ingenious  and  useful  invention.    This  Raker  can 
be  attached  to  any  of  the  half  score  of  Reapers  on  exhibition,  as 
there  is  nothing  peculiar  in  the  construction  of  the  machine 
upon  which  it  is  now  shown,  unless  it  is  peculiar  to  see  one  ex- 
hibited just  in  the  condition  they  are  all  built  for  sale  to  the 
wheat-growers  of  Illinois,  without  any  tinsel,  or  extra  gew-gaw 
show,  such  as  some  exhibitors  seem  to  think  make  their  articles 
more  attractive.    The  attachment  and  operation  of  the  Raker 
is  by  a  bevel-wheel,  about  twenty-three  inches  diameter,  upon 
a  spur  of  which,  on  the  inside  of  the  rim,  is  a  knob,  working  into 
the  hollow  end  of  an  arm,  and  by  the  mere  turning  of  that 
wheel,  without  any  other  means,  that  arm  in  its  circular  motion 
creates  amotion  of  the  rake,  which  is  exactly  what  the  two 
hands  of  a  man  would  be  if  he  stooped  down  and  scraped  up 
the  grain  writh  his  hands  which  the  reaper  has  cut  and  laid  upon 
the  platform.    The  rake  then  turns  round,  opens  its  fingers, 
lays  down  the  wheat  ready  for  the  binder  out  of  the  way  of  the 
next  through,  stretches  out  its  arms,  turns  back  to  the  platform 
and  takes  up  another  load,  and  thus  goes  on  his  ceaseless  round, 
the  motion  of  the  reaper  keeping  the  raker  performing  its  work 


88 


THE  GREAT  EXHIBITION. 


with  unerring  certainty.  If  there  was  not  another  article  in  the 
Palace  of  interest  to  the  farmer,  this  one  would  be  sufficient  to 
pay  him  well  for  a  journey  of  a  thousand  miles.  Machinists 
will  be  equally  interested  with  the  wheat-grower,  for  they  will 
see  a  complicated  movement  produced  by  the  most  simple  and 
ingenious  piece  of  mechanism  perhaps  in  the  whole  Exhibition. 

By  the  side  of  the  last-described  machine,  stands  another  odd- 
looking  concern,  unlike  anything  else  in  the  Palace,  and,  for 
aught  we  know,  anywhere  on  earth  out  of  it.  This  attracts  a 
great  deal  of  attention,  and  bears  the  name  of  Gibbs'  Rotary 
Spade.  It  has  long  been  a  desideratum  among  farmers  to  pro- 
duce a  machine  which  would  perform  by  team-power,  and  pro- 
duce the  same  effect  upon  the  earth  that  is  produced  by  the 
operation  of  spading.  It  seems  very  probable  that  this  result 
has  at  length  been  reached.  The  implement  before  us  is  the 
invention  of  a  plain,  practical,  common-sense  man,  who,  unlike 
many  of  his  co-exhibitors,  has  not  attempted  to  get  up  some- 
thing that  looks  more  like  a  piece  of  parlor  furniture  than  it 
does  like  a  farm  implement,  but  shows  his  machine  in  working 
order,  with  the  dirt  of  the  last  trial  still  adhering  to  it.  This 
spading  machine  is  composed  of  two  cast-iron  circular  plates, 
about  two  feet  four  inches  diameter,  and  one  inch  thick.  These 
are  fastened  upon  a  shaft  about  two  inches  apart,  and  working 
between  them  are  eight  stout,  narrow,  wrought-iron  teeth, 
somewhat  like  the  old-fashioned  cultivator  teeth.  These  teeth 
are  hung,  and  have  a  trigger  to  throw  the  tooth  out  as  the  ma- 
chine revolves.  Two  sets  of  these  plates  and  teeth  are  set  in  a 
stout  frame,  and  look  like  a  pair  of  toothed  wheels,  of  a  very 
formidable  appearance,  the  teeth  projecting  about  nine  inches. 
The  operation  is  thus  :  A  pair  of  oxen,  which  are  sufficient  upon 
ordinary  soil,  are  hitched  to  the  frame,  and,  as  it  is  drawn  for- 
ward, each  tooth  in  succession  is  pressed  into  the  earth  by  the 
weight  of  the  machine,  and  as  it  rolls  forward  the  weight  falls 
upon  the  trigger,  and  that  throwrs  the  tooth  out  with  its  load, 
turning  and  pulverizing  the  earth  as  though  spaded,  or,  more 
properly,  forked  over.  The  twTo  wheels  cut  a  furrow  about 
two  feet  wide  and  nine  inches  deep,  which  can  be  increased  by 
an  enlarged  machine  to  any  desirable  width  or  depth.    It  re- 


OTHER  AGRICULTURAL  IMPLEMENTS.  89 


quires  no  holding,  yet  is  provided  with  handles  so  fixed  as  to 
throw  the  teeth  out  of  the  ground  by  the  weight  and  motion. 
It  is  a  very  strong  and  apparently  a  very  efficient  farm  imple- 
ment, unlike  anything  else  heretofore  offered  ;  and  if  it  proves 
to  be  as  good  as  it  promises,  it  is  possible  that  it  foreshadows 
a  rotary  steam-working  implement,  for  doing  the  work  of  the 
plow.  The  greatest  objection  we  see  to  it,  is,  that  it  hails  from 
Washington — and  we  cannot  help  thinking  of  a  text  of  Scripture 
which  says,  "  Can  any  good  thing  come  out  of  Nazareth  V  If 
any  good  thing  agricultural,  either  as  machines,  or  an  intellec- 
tual production,  has  come  out  of  that  place  with  this  implement, 
it  ought  to  be  set  down  to  the  credit  of  that  centre  of  every- 
thing that  is  notoriously  old  fogy  about  agricultural  improve- 
ment. On  this  account,  if  nothing  else,  that  farmers  may 
say  they  have  seen  one  thing  from  Washington  which  was  in- 
tended for  their  benefit,  we  bespeak  them  to  look  at  the  Rotary 
Spade.  They  will  find  it  in  the  gallery  of  the  east  nave,  near- 
est the  Reservoir. 

Properly  following  this  implement,  as  it  might  do  in  prac- 
tice, we  will  notice  another  curious  rotary  machine,  called  a 
Ditch-Digger.  This  is  another  new  farm  implement,  patented 
this  present  month,  by  R.  C.  Pratt,  of  Canandaigua,  N.  Y.  It 
is  also  iron,  the  frame  about  five  feet  high,  with  twelve  spades 
arranged  around  a  circle,  which  revolve  as  it  is  drawn  forward. 
Each  blade,  which  is  eight  inches  wide  and  twelve  inches  long, 
enters  the  ground  and  takes  up  its  load,  carrying  it  round  to 
the  centre  on  the  top,  where  it  is  discharged  upon  conductors 
which  carry  the  dirt  off  upon  each  side.  It  looks  well,  is  strong- 
ly built,  and  the  exhibitor  is  entitled  to  one  credit  which  many 
are  not :  he  tells  the  public  what  his  machine  is  fijr.  On  a 
card  attached  is  neatly  printed  in  large  letters  these  words  : — 
"This  Ditch-Digger  requires  but  one  span  of  horses  and  one 
man  to  work  it,  and  where  the  ground  is  favorable,  will  cut 
one  hundred  and  fifty  rods  a  day,  not  less  than  two  feet  deep. 
In  hard  and  stony  ground,  it  will  cut  fifty  to  one  hundred  rods, 
by  using  an  extra  man  in  the  ditch  with  a  pick."  That  tells 
the  story  in  a  very  plain,  comprehensive  manner.  Of  the  truth 
of  it,  those  who  want  such  a  machine  can  inform  themselves. 


so 


THE  GREAT  EXHIBITION. 


Arnett's  Improved  Road-Scraper  is  another  entirely  new  farm 
implement.  It  was  thought  when  the  cast  iron  scraper  was  sub- 
stituted for  the  wooden  one,  that  further  improvement  upon  so  sim- 
ple an  article  as  this  very  much  neglected,  and  yet  very  useful 
farm  implement,  would  not  perhaps  be  attempted.  Yet  we  be- 
lieve wrought  iron  has  been  successfully  substituted,  without, 
however,  altering  the  form.  All  who  use  this  implement  are 
aware  that  it  is  no  child's  play.  Strong  arms  are  required  to  dis- 
charge the  load  of  dirt  after  it  is  accumulated  and  carried  to  the 
place.  Perhaps  a  few  who  may  read  this  article  do  not  even  know 
what  a  road-scraper  is.  Fancy  a  shovel  big  enough  to  hold  a 
hundred  hand-shovels-full  of  dirt,  with  one  or  two  horses,  or  a  yoke 
of  oxen  attached  by  a  chain  to  an  iron  bail,  pulling  it  forward. 
A  man  behind,  takes  hold  of  two  projecting  handles,  and  guides 
the  point  into  the  loose  plowed-up  earth,  and  the  concave  of  the 
shovel  is  soon  filled.  The  dirt  is  to  be  deposited  a  few  yards  of£ 
and  it  rides  easy  to  the  spot.  There  the  man  takes  hold  of  the 
handles  again,  and  gives  them  a  lift  and  a  jerk  forward,  upsetting 
the  contents  upon  the  desired  spot.  It  is  now  drawn  back  and 
turned  over,  and  refitted,  and  so  on.  The  working  of  this  new 
implement  is  the  same,  until  it  comes  to  the  unloading.  As  the 
handles  are  raised,  the  hind  part  of  the  shovel  opens  by  ingeni- 
ously arranged  hinges,  and  lets  the  great  bulk  of  the  load  out 
behind ;  doing  (apparently)  as  much  work  as  the  old-fashioned 
scraper,  or  ox-shovel,  with  less  labor  to  the  operator.  This  is  an 
Iowa  invention,  just  patented.  We  advise  farmers  and  others  in- 
terested in  this  class  of  labor-saving  implements,  to  give  this  one 
their  attention.  They  will  not  only  find  the  name  of.  the  article 
conspicuously  inscribed  on  it,  but  tlie  inventor  present,  ready  to 
impart  all  information  required  ;  and  that  is  more  than  we  can 
say  of  more  than  half  the  things  exhibited.  There  is  an  improve- 
ment, however,  in  this  respect  since  our  former  castigation  of  the 
stupidity  of  those  who  send  articles  here  to  be  gazed  at  in  silent 
wonder  by  the  thousands  who  do  not  happen  to  know  all  that  the 
inventor  knows  of  his  own  idol.  It  does  appear  to  us  past  belief 
how  any  one  with  the  intellect  of  a  donkey  could  place  an  article, 
particularly  a  new  invention  which  he  wishes  to  sell,  here  for 
people  to  wonder  over,  most  unprofitably  to  themselves  as  well  as 


OTHER  AGRICULTURAL  IMPLEMENTS.  91 


the  exhibitor,  without  giving  it  a  name.  In  this  connection,  it  is 
due  to  Messrs.  Longett  &  Griffin  to  say,  that  since  our  former  visit, 
they  have  lettered  every  article  most  conspicuously  ;  for  instance, 
Corn-Sheller,  Straw-Cutter,  Fan-Mill,  &c,  with  gilt  letters.  Some 
other  exhibitors  have  taken  the  hint,  and  if  all  do  not,  in  the  de- 
partment of  Agriculture,  they  must  expect  what  sometimes  follows 
a  hint,  when  that  is  not  taken.  In  this,  exhibitors  are  not  only  in 
fault,  but  the  Managers  are  lamentably  so. 

We  witnessed  to-day  an  amusing  scene  over  a  pair  of  snow- 
shoes.  Of  some  twenty  curiously  excited  men  and  women,  not 
one  of  them  had  ever  seen,  or  had  any  conception  of  the  appear- 
ance of  an  article  which  all  had  read  of,  and  which,  when  they 
knew  what  they  were  looking  at,  became  the  object  of  intense 
curiosity.  It  is  reasonable  to  suppose  that  twenty  thousand  gazers 
at  these  very  articles  will  be  in  exactly  the  same  condition  as  the 
twenty  whom  we  had  the  satisfaction  of  informing  to-day,  that 
they  were  looking  at  a  pair  of  Indian  snow-shoes,  instead  of  "a 
sort  of  fish-net,"  or  "  may  be  a  strainer,  to  strain  maple  sap 
through  ;"  or  some'  of  the  other  odd  uses  we  heard  named  for 
these  very  necessary  appendages  to  a  Northern  voyager's  outfit. 
How  much  would  it  cost  the  managers  to  write  "  Indian  Snow- 
Shoes, "  and  pin  to  these,  before  we  see  another  group  of  wonderers 
around  them  ?  How  much  will  it  cost  other  exhibitors  to  put  a 
card  upon  each  article,  to  let  those  who  come  to  look,  know 
whether  the  box  before  them  is  a  churn  or  a  beehive  ? 

Bidding's  Corn-Sheller  and  Separator  is  another  new  machine, 
patented  last  year,  for  which  the.  owner  claims  some  advantage 
over  any  other,  principally  on  account  of  a  self-adjusting  rest  for 
the  ears  of  corn,  formed  by  the  cobs.  The  machine  is  a  stout 
sheet-iron  case,  four  feet  long,  and  fifteen  inches  diameter,  in  which 
revolves  a  wooden  shaft,  seven  and  a  half  inches  diameter,  cov- 
ered with  iron,  and  armed  with  four  rows  of  teeth,  set  spirally. 
The  shaft  runs  near  the  bottom  of  the  case,  leaving  a  space  above 
and  on  the  sides,  which  fill  up  with  cobs,  which  form  the  rest  for 
the  ears  while  being  shelled.  The  corn  is  shoveled  into  a  hopper 
at  one  end,  and  the  grain  falls  out  at  the  bottom  of  the  case,  and 
the  cobs  at  one  end.  The  inventor  says  he  has  shelled  seven 
hundred  bushels  in  four  hours,  with  a  common  four-horse  power. 


92 


THE  GREAT  EXHIBITION. 


This  machine  was  patented  last  year  by  William  Redding,  of  Flem- 
ington,  N.  J. 

The  same  patentee  has  the  model  of  a  kiln  for  drying  grain, 
which  it  will  be  well  for  those  interested  to  examine.  The 
arrangement  seems  wrell  calculated  to  do  a  great  amount  of 
work  with  but  little  fuel,  the  grain  being  constantly  stirred  by 
machinery. 

A  patent  Pig-Pen  is  not  the  least  curious  of  the  new  inven- 
tions to  be  found  in  the  Agricultural  Department.  It  is  a 
model  of  an  improved  plan  for  feeding  swine.  Instead  of  a 
feeding  trough,  there  is  a  series  of  cast-iron  basins  set  in  a 
bench  about  a  foot  high,  over  each  of  which  is  an  iron  frame  to 
keep  every  pig  in  his  own  dish.  Over  these  basins  there  is  a 
roof,  and  the  side  of  the  pen  in  front  of  them  is  hung  upon 
pivots,  so  it  can  be  pushed  back  at  the  bottom,  shutting  the  pigs 
in  the  pen  and  the  troughs  out.  When  they  are  filled  the  bolt 
is  withdrawn,  and  the  force  of  hunger  pushes  it  back  to  its  ori- 
ginal position.  It  is  worth  looking  into,  if  it  is  nothing  but  a 
pig-pen.  The  inventor  has  given  his  name  ;  but  we  won't  men- 
tion it,  because  he  did  not  put  the  name  of  his  invention,  as  well 
as  his  own,  where  visitors  could  see  it. 

A  patent  Broom  is  worthy  of  notice,  if  for  no  other  reason, 
because  it  is,  we  believe,  the  first  patent  ever  granted  for 
making  corn-brooms,  and  because  it  is  an  article  that  our  female 
friends  in  the  country  will  highly  appreciate ;  for  it  will  enable 
them  at  any  time  when  the  old  broom  is  worn  out,  to  make  a 
new  one,  without  depending  upon  "the  men-folks,"  or  waiting 
for  a  rainy  day.  If  they  have  the  broom-corn,  which  every 
farmer  should  have,  and  every  good  one  will  have,  the  "  women- 
folks" can  make  their  own  brooms,  which  is  a  vast  step  toward 
their  independence.  There  is  no  twine,  no  wire,  no  stitching, 
about  the  patent  broom.  There  is  a  flat  steel  spring,  six  inches 
long,  with  a  T  head  inserted  in  the  handle,  and  over  that  is  a 
hinged  socket,  which,  being  opened,  the  broom-corn  is  laid  upon 
the  spring,  with  the  butts  in  the  socket,  which,  as  well  as  the 
cross-head  of  the  spring,  is  covered  with  teeth,  which  hold  the 
corn.  To  keep  it  in  place,  now  shut  down  the  hinge  of  the 
socket,  and  slip  a  ring  down  over  the  corn  to  about  the  point 


OTHER  AGRICULTURAL  IMPLEMENTS.  93 


where  the  twine  is  generally  stitched  through,  and  the  broom  is 
done.  One  handle  will  last  for  years,  and  is  not  very  expen- 
sive. There  is  a  very  decided  advantage  in  these  brooms  in  this : 
that  the  handle  does  not  project  down  into  the  broom,  but  the 
steel  spring  gives  it  a  pleasant  elasticity,  until  it  is  completely 
worn  out.  For  those  who  do  not,  or  cannot  raise  their  own  « 
broom-corn,  it  will  be  easy  to  buy  it  when  they  buy  their 
broom-handles.  It  is  usually  worth  about  six  cents  a  pound. 
We  bespeak  the  attention  of  the  farmers'  wives  to  this  improve- 
ment ;  knowing,  as  we  do,  that  many  do  not  grow  broom-corn, 
because  it  is  so  much  trouble  to  make  brooms,  or  because  they 
do  not  know  how. 

A  machine  to  cut  vegetables  for  feeding  stock  is  worthy  of  the 
attention  of  all  root-growers.  They  will  find  it  in  the  collection 
of  Ruggles,  Nourse,  Mason  &  Co.,  just  at  the  left  hand  of  the 
right  branch  of  the  stair-case  landing,  north-east  from  the  rotunda. 
On  a  frame  about  2\  feet  high,  the  same  length,  and  about  half 
that  in  width,  is  hung  a  cast-iron  wheel,  in  a  manner  similar  to  a 
common  grindstone,  and  turned  by  a  crank  in  the  same  way. 
This  wheel  is  about  two  feet  in  diameter,  and  has,  in  four  equi- 
distant mortises,  each  about  8  inches  long  and  \\  inch  wide, 
one  blade  as  long  as  the  mortises,  and  five  cross-knives.  On  the 
side  of  the  frame  is  a  hopper,  which  will  hold  a  bushel  and  a 
half  of  turnips,  beets,  or  whatever  may  be  desired  to  cut.  The 
operation  is  thus :  The  wheel  being  turned,  the  roots  in  the 
hopper  press  down  against  the  side  of  the  wheel,  and  are  first 
struck  with  the  long  knife,  which  cuts  off  a  slice  three-quarters 
of  an  inch  thick.  This  is  pushed  up  the  blade,  which  is  set  at 
an  angle  with  the  plane  of  the  wheel's  face,  and  meets  the  cross- 
knives,  which  cut  it  into  squares  f  by  \  \  inch.  A  stout  man 
can  cut  a  bushel  a  minute,  with  a  hand  to  feed  the  hopper,  and 
continue  the  operation  as  long  as  wrould  ordinarily  be  required  to 
provide  a  day's  feeding  of  a  large  stock.  The  price  of  this  use- 
ful machine  is  within  reach  of  every  farmer  who  keeps  a  horse 
and  cow. 

There  is  another  machine  on  the  platform  over  the  Reapers, 
which  seems  to  be  designed  for  the  same  purpose,  or  rather  to 
cut  up  the  roots  into  much  smaller  pieces.    This  is  a  conical 


94 


THE  GREAT  EXHIBITION. 


roller,  18  inches  in  diameter  at  one  end  and  about  10  inches  at 
the  other,  and  12  inches  long,  which  runs  at  the  bottom  of  a 
hopper,  mounted  on  a  frame  some  2\  feet  high,  the  same  length, 
and  1 6  inches  wide.  On  the  outer  face  of  the  roller  there  are 
twelve  slats,  upon  which  are  screwed  the  cutters  ;  the  edges  are 
shaped  exactly  like  the  edges  of  a  ruffle,  the  crimps  of  which  are 
about  three-quarters  of  an  inch  wide,  so  that  the  pieces  cut  are 
like  a  slice  from  the  side  of  a  small  potatoe,  say  a  quarter  of  an 
inch  thick.  We  know  nothing  of  the  operation  of  this  machine ; 
it  does  not,  however,  look  as  if  it  were  as  effective  as  the  other, 
which  we  know  is  worthy  of  the  notice  of  every  farmer. 

On  the  same  platform  with  the  last-named  machine,  is  a  com- 
mon wooden  frame-expanding  cultivator,  to  which  is  attached  a 
drilling  apparatus  for  planting  any  kind  of  seed.  Attached  to 
the  hind  end  of  the  centre-beam,  is  a  wooden  wheel  twelve  inches 
in  diameter,  and  four  inches  thick,  upon  the  shaft  of  which  is  a 
driving-pulley.  A  band  runs  from  this  to  an  iron  shaft  on  the 
former,  also  made  to  expand,  and  this  shaft  carries  the  seed- 
droppers  in  tin  boxes  on  the  ends  of  the  side-piece  of  the  frame. 
This  looks  like  a  very  simple  mode  of  drilling  seeds,  two  rows  at 
a  time,  combined  with  an  implement  which  ought  to  be  much 
better  known  and  more  generally  used.  Besides  the  advantage 
of  drilling,  the  same  tool  answers  for  tending  the  crop  in  the 
course  of  its  growth,  by  simply  removing  the  driving  wheel  of  the 
drilling  apparatus.  Any  one  who  owns  a  cultivator — may  at- 
tach the  drill  to  it,  at  much  less  expense  than  he.  could  buy  a 
separate  machine. 

We  have  seen  a  drill  attached  to  a  plow,  but  like  this  better. 
We  are  in  favor  of  drilling  all  kinds  of  seeds,  and  hail  with  plea- 
sure any  improvement  that  will  lessen  the  expense  of  the  ma-  i 
chine  necessary  for  that  purpose. 

One  of  the  small  articles,  well  worth  a  passing  notice,  because 
it  shows  a  decided  improvement,  is  a  common  grocer's  or  house- 
hold funnel,  which  measures  the  liquid  just  as  correctly  as  can 
be  done  in  a  separate  measure.  This  is  accomplished  by  a 
spring  valve  which  keeps  the  spout  closed  while  the  liquid  is 
poured  or  drawn  in  from  the  cask  till  filled  up  to  a  ring,  marking 
the  desired  quantity,  when  the  valve  is  opened  by  a  slight  touch 

I 


OTHER  AGRICULTURAL  IMPLEMENTS. 


95 


on  a  thumb-piece,  letting  the  liquid  down  into  the  receiving 
vessel.  This  convenient  new  implement  belongs  to  that  univer- 
sal Yankee  genius  who  invented  and  exhibits  the  curious  revolv- 
ing-spade before  noticed. 

The  same  man  has  a  bit  made  to  expand  and  bore  a  hole  of 
any  size,  from  f  to  2\  inches  diameter,  which  is  strong  and  easily- 
adjusted.  He  also  has  a  very  simple  washing-machine.  A 
grooved  bed  is  placed  in  a  wash-tub,  and  on  this  a  cap  is  made  to 
revolve  upon  a  centre  post.  The  clothes  are  put  in' and  the  cap 
put  on,  the  operator  taking  hold  of  a  handle  and  making  it  re- 
volve half  round  and  back,  which  gives  almost  the  exact  opera- 
tion of  rubbing  the  clothes  by  hand  over  the  washboard.  The 
great  advantage  is  the  simplicity  and  cheapness  of  this  labor- 
saving  implement,  to  a  class  who  are  most  in  want  of  such  labor- 
saving  machinery.  It  need  not  cost  over  a  couple  of  dollars  to 
put  one  into  any  wash-tub,  and  it  can  be  removed  at  pleasure. 
It  is  a  very  simple,  cheap  contrivance,  and  we  hope  those  who 
dread  washing-day  will  look  at  this  machine,  certainly  the  last 
of  a  numerous  family,  and  tell  us  what  is  the  objection  to  it,  if 
there  are  any  that  are  very  serious.  We  recommend  the  inven- 
tor to  make  his  rubbers  of  zinc,  pressed  into  the  proper  shape, 
and  then,  as  they  are  prevented  by  a  shoulder  on  the  centre-pin 
from  coming  together,  no  injury  can  come  to  the  clothes  which 
are  rolled  over  and  over,  back  and  forth,  by  an  easy  rubbing 
process. 

The  hand  corn-sheller  is  a  very  simple,  effective,  cheap  farm 
implement,  and  yet  unknown  upon  half  the  farms  of  the  United 
States.  These  machines  are  made  of  different  sizes  ;  one  of  the 
smallest  is  a  frame  38  inches  high,  24  inches  long,  and  8  inches 
wide,  in  which  the  machinery  is  boxed.  The  largest  size  is  3 
inches  higher  and  wider,  and  6  inches  longer.  On  the  top  of  the 
box  there  is  a  hole  about  3  inches  in  diameter,  into  which  the 
ears  are  dropped  one  at  a  time,  which  are  held  by  a  wheel  and 
spring  up  to  a  cast-iron-toothed  flat  wheel,  as  large  as  will  run  in 
the  box.  This  wheel  is  turned  by  a  crank  on  the  centre-shaft, 
and  a  man  and  a  boy  can  shell  from  one  to  three  hundred 
bushels  a  day.  It  makes  no  difference  whether  the  ears  are 
large  or  small,  as  the  spring  regulates  the  size  of  the  opening 


96 


THE  GREAT  EXHIBITION. 


through  which  the  cob  must  pass.  Some  of  the  machines  are  so 
arranged  that  the  cobs  are  separated  from  the  shelled  corn,  but 
that  is  a  matter  of  very  little  consequence.  This  machine  is  a 
very  substantial  one,  and,  the  shelling  apparatus  being  enclosed, 
the  corn  is  not  scattered.  It  does  seem  to  us  that  every  man 
who  sees  one  of  these  very  useful  articles  will  never  afterward 
feel  quite  easy  in  his  conscience  while  he  sits  hour  after  hour, 
rubbing  off  a  few  bushels  of  corn  upon  the  edge  of  a  shovel  laid 
across  a  wash-tub,  when  with  one  of  these  little  machines  he 
could  do  the  same  work  in  five  minutes. 

Among  Grain-Cleaners,  the  common  Fanning-Mill,  in  almost 
universal  use  among  farmers,  ought,  perhaps,  to  be  first  noticed. 
We  say  almost  universal,  because  it  is  not  wholly  so  ;  for  we 
know  districts  of  the  United  States,  where  the  old  mode  of  clean- 
ing grain  by  hand-riddles,  and  blowing  the  chaff  out  in  the  wind, 
is  still  practised.  In  fact,  it  is  not  many  months  since  we  saw  a 
grain-grower  hard  at  work  with  an  old-fashioned  Dutch  fan,  made 
of  willows,  trying  to  separate  the  grain  from  the  chaff.  Less 
than  three  years  ago,  we  saw  four  stout  negroes,  upon  a  South 
Carolina  rice  plantation,  tossing  the  grain  up  and  down  in  a 
blanket,  to  blow  out  stuff  lighter  than  the  grain.  It  had  been 
previously  threshed  with  flails,  and  would  be  hulled  by  the 
equally  primitive  way  of  working,  by  beating  in  a  hand-mortar. 
It  is  almost  needless  to  say  that  it  was  cultivated  entirely  by  hoes 
— no  plow  ever  having  been  used  upon  the  land  where  it  grew. 
And  these  are  not  the  only  people  who  know  nothing  of  ma- 
chines for  cleaning  grain. 

The  fanning-mill,  so  well  known  to  those  who  use  it,  is  a  plain 
wooden  box,  two  or  three  feet  wide,  and  three  to  four  feet  long 
and  high,  in  one  end  of  which  is  a  wooden  wheel  with  broad 
fans,  which,  being  turned  by  a  crank  and  iron  cog-wheel  on  the 
outside,  by  which  the  velocity  of  the  fan  is  increased,  creates  a 
current  of  air,  which,  blowing  against  the  grain  as  it  falls  through 
the  riddles  near  the  top,  at  the  other  end  of  the  mill,  forces  the 
chaff  out  that  way,  while  the  grain  runs  down  an  inclined  screen, 
dropping  small  end  through,  and  carrying  the  plump  grains  over 
and  out  at  the  end  opposite  from  the  chaff.  The  grain,  as  it 
comes  from  the  threshing-machine,  is  shoveled  into  a  hopper  on 


OTHER  AGRICULTURAL  IMPLEMENTS.  97 


top,  over  the  riddles,  which  are  shaken  by  a  crank  and  awkward 
motion  side  wise  from  the  fan- wheel.  There  is  a  number  of 
wire  sieves  and  screens  of  different  fineness,  for  various  grains, 
and  the  machine,  on  the  whole,  is  a  very  useful  one  ;  but  in  all 
the  "  improvements"  and  new  patents,  the  old  principle  seems  to 
have  been  adhered  to.  There  are  three  of  these  machines  exhi- 
bited— one  by  Allen,  in  the  plain  style  ;  they  are  made  for  farmer's 
use,  costing  about  twenty-five  dollars  ;  one  by  Meyer,  lettered  in 
gold  "  J.  T.  Grant's  patent,  1845,"  made  of  black  walnut,  and 
finished  off  as  though  for  a  piece  of  parlor-furniture,  to  the  decided 
disadvantage,  as  we  conceive,  of  the  exhibitor,  and  him  who  may 
for  the  first  time  see  a  fanning-mill,  in  the  Exhibition  ;  as  on 
being  told  what  it  is  for,  he  will  at  once  conclude  that  he  cannot 
afford  to  put  such  a  piece  of  cabinet-work  into  his  barn,  or,  what 
is  much  more  common,  by  the  side  of  a  grain-stack  in  the  field, 
exposed  to  all  weathers.  Another  of  these  machines,  exhibited 
by  Longett  &  Griffin,  is  still  more  outre  in  its  appearance  ;  for,  be- 
side the  polished  black  walnut,  it  has  sides  of  glass,  by  which  its 
interior  is  rendered  very  much  more  visible  than  the  design  of 
the  builder,  in  making  a  farm  implement  so  unlike  anything  which 
will  ever  be  used  in  practical  operation. 

Having  described  the  common  fan,  we  shall  try  to  give  an  idea 
of  an  entirely  new  machine  for  the  same  purpose.  It  is  called 
"  Salmon's  Improved  Excelsior  Grain  and  Grass-seed  Separator" 
— a  very  objectionably  long  name.  How  much  better  would 
have  been  "  Improved  Grain-Fan,"  or  "  Excelsior  Grain-Cleaner  !" 
The  same  objection,  also,  rests  against  the  finish  of  this  machine 
as  the  others.  As  it  is  something  new,  and  we  really  believe, 
something  very  good,  it  ought  to  have  been  shown  just  as  it  is 
intended  to  build  them  for  the  farmer.  The  builder  says  that  it 
is  not  his  fault — that  the  managers  requested  him  to  get  up  a 
machine  to  show  fine  workmanship  rather  than  practical  utility, 
and  refused  him  room  enough  to  show  two,  one  plain,  and  the 
other  as  highly  finished  as  they  pleased.  This  machine  is  very 
unlike  the  fan-mill  above  described,  though  answering  the  same 
purpose,  and  even  effecting  much  more  ;  for,  by  slight  changes  in 
the  force  and  direction  of  the  blast,  wheat  can  be  separated  from 
chess,  cockle,  garlic,  smut,  white-heads,  and  other  impurities,  as 

5 


98 


THE  GREAT  EXHIBITION. 


well  as  from  grass-seed,  saving  that,  and  separating  the  different 
kinds  of  grain  and  grass  from  one  another.  The  wind-wheel  is 
made  of  iron,  sixteen  inches  diameter,  eighteen  inches  long,  and 
is  placed  in  an  air-tight  iron  trunk  at  the  bottom  of  the  frame, 
which  is  three  feet  ten  inches  high,  two  feet  wide,  and  two  feet 
ten  inches  long.  The  wind-wheel  is  driven  by  a  cog-wheel  two 
feet  diameter,  which  gives  the  fan  great  velocity,  sending  the  air 
up  a  tight  trunk,  through  which  the  grain  is  falling  from  the 
sieves,  which  are  not  shaken  sidewise,  like  the  common  fan-mills, 
requiring  a  good  deal  of  extra  room,  but  are  jogged  in  front  by  a 
cam  on  the  shaft  of  the  driving-wheel.  The  sieves,  five  in  num- 
ber, for  different  grain,  are  made  fine  at  the  end  where  the  grain 
first  strikes  them,  to  let  through  fine  seeds,  and  coarse  at  the 
other  end,  through  which  the  wheat  falls  on  the  inclined  plane, 
and  through  the  wind-spout  into  a  receiver  at  the  bottom.  The 
wind-spout,  at  the  back  of  the  mill,  can  be  closed  in  part,  or 
wholly,  by  which  a  little  blast  is  allowed,  or  all  turned  out 
through  the  sieves. 

This  machine  is  very  simple  in  its  whole  construction  and 
operation,  and  worth  the  attention  of  farmers  and  millers  who 
desire  something  better  than,  and  equally  cheap  as,  the  old- 
fashioned  Fanning-Mill.  It  is  quite  portable,  as  may  be  seen  by 
its  size,  and  the  weight  of  one  the  size  of  that  exhbited,  is  from 
one  hundred  and  twenty-five  to  one  hundred  and  thirty-five 
pounds,  only.  It  was  patented  in  July  of  the  present  year,  and 
originated  in  the  great  wheat  region  of  Northern  Illinois,  where 
the  want  of  a  perfect  grain-cleaner  has  long  been  felt — the  wheat 
from  Chicago  being  generally  several  cents  below  that  of  this 
state,  on  account  of  the  very  imperfect  manner  in  which  it  is 
cleaned.  This  promises  to  be  a  very  valuable  improved  machine 
for  all  wheat-growers.  Let  them  look  at  it,  and  hear  the  owner's 
explanation. 

There  is  another  somewhat  similar-looking  machine  by  the 
side  of  the  one  described,  which  we  have  reason  to  suppose  is 
intended  for  the  same  purpose  ;  but  as  the  owner  has  neither 
given  it  a  name  nor  taken  the  trouble  to  be  present  to  give  ex- 
planations, we  are  unable  to  give  our  readers  any  information 
respecting  it,  besides  telling  them  that  such  a  thing  is  there, 


OTHER  AGRICULTURAL  IMPLEMENTS,  99 


and,  if  they  can  reap  any  benefit  from  its  examination,  it  is 
more  than  we  have  been  able  to  do,  or  hear  that  any  body  else 
has. 

By  the  side  of  that  stands  another  secret  mystery,  which  we 
have  guessed  is  a  clover-threshing  and  cleaning  machine,  but 
have  never  seen  anybody  who  could  say  for  certain.  We  have 
heard  others  "  guess  it  is  a  carding-machine."  Who  knows?  It 
has  no  name,  and  perhaps  no  owner.  In  connection  with  these 
nameless  articles,  we  were  pleased  to  find  the  following  placard, 
lately  posted  up  :  "  Exhibitors  in  Class  9  are  requested  to  have 
the  names  of  their  implements,  with  their  own  names,  placed 
upon  them.    Per  order." 

There  is  another  machine  called  "  Child's  Separator,"  which 
has  lately  come  into  the  Exhibition,  from  Rochester,  accompa- 
nied by  the  inventor.  It  has  been  some  years  in  use,  and  has  gain- 
ed a  high  reputation  among  millers.  One  of  the  principal  im- 
provements of  this  machine  upon  the  old  fanning-mill  is  an  at- 
tachment which  causes  the  grain  to  fall  through  a  draft  of  air, 
created  by  suction  of  the  fan,  so  strong  that  the  grain  is  held  in 
suspension,  until  all  the  light  particles  are  separated  and  blown 
out  another  way.  This  machine  is  worth  the  attention  of  rice- 
planters,  as  we  think  its  operation  is  such  that  it  would  be  very 
valuable  in  separating  the  rice  flour  and  broken  rice  from  the 
whole  grains,  after  they  come  from  the  mortars. 

By-the-by,  where  are  some  of  the  much  bragged-of  rice-hull- 
ing machines,  made  in  Brooklyn  1  We  see  none  of  them  here 
in  this  Exhibition  of  all  Nations.  Is  not  Brooklyn  one  of  the 
nations  of  the  earth  ? 

Another,  which  may  probably  rank  as  a  grain-cleaner,  is  a 
very  simple  little  machine  for  husking  corn,  invented  by  T.  C. 
Hargreaves,  in  1852. 

A  man  stands  by  the  side  of  a  little  frame  and  turns  a  crank, 
while  a  boy  places  the  ears  of  corn  in  little  troughs  of  a  hori- 
zontal wheel  on  top  of  the  frame.  As  they  pass  round,  a  chisel 
comes  down,  separates  the  stalk  from  the  cob  and  pushes  out  the 
ear  and  returns  ready  for  another,  as  it  comes  around.  Another 
contrivance  throws  out  the  husk.  In  this  wray,  says  the  inven- 
tor, two  hundred  bushels  a  day  can  be  shelled,  or  with  a  large 


100 


THE  GREAT  EXHIBITION. 


power-machine  twelve  hundred  bushels  in  ten  hours.  The 

price  of  a  hand-machine  is  eighteen  to  twenty-five  dollars.  This 
is  an  ingenious  contrivance  for  lessening  one  of  the  very  tedi- 
ous operations  of  the  farm,  and  was  got  up  by  a.  practical  New 
York  farmer.  We  advise  corn-growers  to  look  at  it.  They 
will  find  it  on  the  platform  over  the  reapers. 

Having  noticed  several  American  and  one  Scotch  plow,  we 
looked  about  among  the  contributors  of  other  nations,  to  find 
some  of  the  same  implements  which  we  might  describe  by  way 
of  contrast  with  our  own.  On  the  north  side  of  the  Palace,  a 
little  to  the  west  of  the  Sixth-avenue  entrance,  hid  away  among 
numerous  unnamed,  unarranged  things,  we  found  a  solitary 
German  plow,  the  dimensions  of  which  we  took,  and  now 
give  to  the  reader.  It  has  a  wooden  beam,  six  feet  eight  inches 
long,  and  one  handle,  a  straight,  almost  upright  standard,  four 
feet  four  inches  long,  with  a  pin  for  the  hand  eight  inches  below 
the  top,  and  three  feet  from  the  ground,  the  holder  either  tak- 
ing hold  of  the  pin  or  top  of  the  upright,  as  he  pleases.  The 
land- side  measures  three  feet  two  inches  from  point  to  heel,  and 
from  the  point  to  the  upper  corner  of  the  wing  it  is  three  feet 
three  inches.  The  length  of  mold-board  on  the  upper  edge 
twenty-three  inches,  height  thirteen  inches.  Width  from  top 
of  mold-board  to  land-side,  thirteen  inches.  Width  from  bottom 
of  mold-board  to  land-side,  eleven  inches.  Height  of  standard 
to  top  of  beam,  seventeen  and  a  half  inches.  The  mold-board 
is  wrought  iron,  made  with  a  very  great  twist,  and  held  in  posi- 
tion by  one  strong  iron  brace  from  the  handle.  The  wing  of 
the  share  is  wrought,  and  the  under  side  cast,  and  so  is  the 
landside  and  standard,  in  separate  pieces.  There  is,  about  half- 
way between  the  standard  and  point  of  beam,  another  share, 
fastened  to  a  cast  standard  and  held  by  a  clamp  and  screw  on 
the  right  side  of  the  beam,  and  movable  up  and  down,  very 
much  like  the  Michigan  plow,  heretofore  described.  Did  the 
patentee  of  that  get  his  idea  from  this  %  Both  shares  have  coul- 
ters, fastened  in  cast-iron  clamps  on  the  left  side  of  the  brace 
by  a  wedge.  Instead  of  a  gauge-wheel  on  the  forward  end  of 
the  beam,  like  our  best  plows,  this  has  a  wooden  post  with  a 
set  of  sled-runners  on  the  bottom,  shod  with  iron.    On  one 


OTHER  AGRICULTURAL  IMPLEMENTS.  101 


edge  of  the  post  is  a  toothed  rack,  so  it  can  be  gauged  by  mov- 
ing a  pin  and  slipping  up  or  down.  The  clevis  is  a  quarter 
circle,  with  holes  to  attach  the  chain  by  which  the  draft  is  regu- 
lated. The  whole  is  rather  roughly  made,  and  we  noticed  one 
great  defect  in  the  workmanship;  the  standard  and  pin  of  the 
handle,  through  necessity  but  little  crooked,  are  cut  across  the 
grain  of  the  wood,  very  unlike  anything  to  be  seen  among  the 
American  plows.  It  is  a  pity  this  could  not  be  placed  among 
those,  that  it  might  be  seen  .and  better  judged  of  by  contrast. 

In  the  Canada  Department,  there  is  a  plow  which  in  shape 
much  resembles  the  Scotch  plow,  but  has  a  cast-iron  beam  from 
the  standard  forward,  and  wood  behind,  and  wooden  handles. 
The  land-side  and  standard  are  cast  in  one  piece,  and  the  two 
parts  of  the  beam,  wood  and  iron,  bolted  to  the  standard,  giv- 
ing it  a  very  unique  appearance,  and,  so  far  as  we  can  see,  with- 
out any  advantage  over  wooden  beams. 

Near  the  German  plow,  stands  a  hand  seed-planter,  with  han- 
dle and  wheel  like  a  wheel-barrow;  the  seed  being  placed  in  an 
iron  hopper  on  the  frame,  is  taken  out  by  twelve  little  spoons 
on  circular  plates,  which  are  moved  by  small  chain-bands  con- 
nected with  the  wheel.  It  is  very  roughly  and  strongly  built, 
and  may  answer  a  very  good  purpose  ;  but  it  does  not  strike 
us  as  being  fit  to  compare  with  some  of  our  machines  for  the 
same  purpose. 

Corn-Shellers  of  larger  size,  to  be  driven  by  horse,  or  other 
power,  are  of  various  forms.  We  have  described  one  already. 
Another  form  somewhat  resembles  a  threshing  machine.  A  tooth- 
ed cylinder,  twelve  to  sixteen  inches  in  diameter,  and  thirty  inches 
long,  is  mounted  on  a  frame,  with  a  large  hopper,  into  which  the 
corn  is  shoveled,  or  poured  out  of  baskets,  and  as  the  cylinder  is 
made  to  revolve  rapidly  by  a  pulley  and  band  on  the  shaft,  the 
ears  are  carried  under  the  cylinder,  and  the  grains  scoured  off  be- 
tween that  and  the  concave  bed.  Some  of  the  largest  sizes  of 
this  description  of  corn-shellers  wrill  shell  two  bushels  a  minute,  or 
twelve  hundred  bushels  a  day,  with  a  four-horse  power. 

While  you  are  among  the  farming-tools,  don't  overlook  the  nu- 
merous specimens  of  spades,  shovels,  forks,  hoes,  scythes,  and  such 
minor  tools,  but  equally  important  as  those  of  larger  dimensions. 


102 


THE  GREAT  EXHIBITION. 


As  you  pass  along  almost  over  the  statue  of  Daniel  Webster, 
cast  your  eye  into  a  couple  of  cases  of  tools  from  the  Tuttle  Manu- 
facturing Company,  Naugatuck,  Ct.,  which  we  believe  is  one  oi 
the  oldest,  as  well  as  most  extensive,  manufacturing  establish- 
ments in  this  country,  of  hoes,  forks,  garden-rakes,  root-diggers 
&c.  You  will  certainly  see  in  these  cases,  some  tools  which  show 
a  degree  of  skill  in  their  formation  and  finish,  not  easily  exceeded, 
in  this  or  any  other  country.  Perfection  in  the  art  of  working  the 
steel  out  of  solid  bars,  into  hoes,  rakes,  or  forks,  with  two  to  four- 
teen tines,  has  been  reached,  and  the  way  they  are  finished  is 
equally  perfect,  and  highly  creditable  to  American  manufacturers. 
The  Tuttle  hoes  have  long  had  an  enviable  reputation.  One, 
called  the  concave  hoe,  is  sold  in  almost  all  hoe-using  countries. 
The  greatest  skill  is  required  in  the  manufactory  of  the  many-tined 
forks,  all  out  of  one  piece  of  cast-steel,  without  a  single  weld. 
This  is  not  accomplished  without  the  aid  of  tools  which  have  taxed 
the  ingenuity  of  many,  and  the  skill  in  their  use,  of  many  others. 
Those  who  can  contrast  these  tools  with  such  as  we  used  thirty 
or  forty  years  ago,  will  acknowledge  that  our  country  is  progressive. 
Hoes  and  forks  were  then  very  roughly  made  in  a  common  black- 
smith's shop,  at  more  expense  to  the  farmer  than  the  beautiful 
polished  articles. 

Among  other  things,  we  ask  farmers  to  look  at  manure-forks,  of 
any  number  of  tines  required,  which  are  light  and  strong  ;  at 
spading-forks,  with  flat  tines,  half  an  inch  thick  ;  at  hay-forks, 
with  two,  three,  or  four  tines,  which  you  may  lay  down  under  the 
wheels  of  a  loaded  wagon  without  injury.  Look  at  the  potatoe- 
hooks,  somewhat  like  the  tines  of  a  fork,  turned  round  so  as  to  set 
like  a  hoe  with  a  handle.  Note  the  tools  made  in  the  same  way, 
but  stronger,  for  digging  manure.  See  also  what  timber  is  used 
for  the  handles — ash  that  is  almost  as  strong  as  steel.  These 
tools  are  just  as  they  are  sold  to  farmers.  In  the  hoe-case  there 
is  a  little  extra  show  about  the  gold  and  silver  ferules. 

In  regard  to  the  extent  of  the  business  of  this  company,  a  few 
facts  will  be  interesting.  In  the  first  place,  the  power  in  its  fac- 
tory is  equal  to  one  hundred  horses,  and  is  so  arranged  as  to  be 
permanent,  which  is  very  useful.  The  number  of  hands  employed 
in  all  the  various  departments  is  something  like  one  hundred. 


OTHER  AGRICULTURAL  IMPLEMENTS.  103 


The  quantity  of  steel  used  is  over  two  hundred  tons  per  annum, 
and  this  will  be  greatly  increased  the  present  season.  The  goods 
turned  out  per  year  amount  to  something  like  fifty  thousand  dozen 
of  various  descriptions.  Each  hoe,  fork,  and  rake,  requires  a 
handle  and  ferule,  making  one  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  dozen 
pieces.  Persons  examining  these  cases  may  he  struck  with  the 
style,  variety  of  goods,  and  finish.  They  are  not  confined  to  one 
particular  description  of  articles,  hut  make  to  order  any  quality 
or  style,  their  prices  varying  from  $2  to  $75  per  dozen. 

Next  to  the  case  of  forks,  there  are  two  cases  of  shovels  and 
spades,  from  the  Old  Colony  Iron-works,  Taunton,  Massachusetts. 
In  the  manufacture  of  this  description  of  tools,  that  state  has  long 
held  a  preeminent  position.  We  are  not  aware  that  any  country 
in  the  world  exceeds  ours  in  the  good  quality  of  its  shovels.  In 
these  cases,  may  he  seen  pretty  much  all  sizes  and  shapes,  and 
great  skill  in  the  manufacture  and  finish.  Some  of  them  have 
brass  blades,  for  handling  sugar,  meat,  or  such  stuff  as  iron-rust 
might  injure. 

There  are  a  good  many  other  cases  of  similar  gardening  and 
farming  tools,  many  of  which,  we  doubt  not,  will  be  seen  for  the 
first  time  by  old  farmers,  who  may  profitably  spend  a  day  in  the 
agricultural  department. 

One  of  the  advantages  of  the  Exhibition  will  be,  if  the  opportu- 
nity is  rightly  improved,  to  compare  such  tools  as  farmers  have  in 
use  with  such  as  they  may  see  here,  and  also  such  as  they  see 
one  with  another,  and  finally  select  the  best.  A  determination 
to  improve  by  a  visit  to  this  great  collection  of  good,  bad,  and  in- 
different tools,  should  influence  every  farmer  who  comes  to  the 
New  York  World's  Fair. 


104 


THE  GREAT  EXHIBITION. 


IX. 

PRESERVED  FOOD. 

The  art  of  preserving  food  as  much  as  possible  in  its  original 
state,  is  one  of  very  great  importance.  It  is  at  present  in  a  state 
of  high  perfection,  and  has  been  gradually  improved  by  various 
discoveries  in  chemistry,  and  still  more  by  the  diffusion  of  chemi- 
cal knowledge  among  those  engaged  in  the  useful  arts.  We  do 
not  suffer  the  deprivations  which  our  forefathers  underwent ;  the 
common  articles  of  food  may  be  obtained  at  all  seasons  ;  the  de- 
licious fruits  of  our  gardens  may  be  made  to  contribute  to  our 
health  and  refreshment  at  a  time  when  the  trees  which  produced 
them  are  surrounded  with  snow  ;  and  the  sailor,  or  he  that  makes 
long  voyages,  is  not  necessarily  confined  to  salt  meats, — he  may, 
on  the  longest  voyage,  enjoy  meat  and  vegetables  apparently  as 
fresh  as  if  'he  were  in  port  ;  he  can  have  a  dish  of  white  cabbage 
with  his  corned  beef,  and  good  milk  with  his  tea  ;  and  that 
scourge  and  dread  of  sailors,  scurvy,  need  no  longer  be  entailed 
upon  the  mariner's  life,  except  by  wilful  neglect. 

Apnert,  whose  collection  is  in  the  French  Department  below, 
is  the  Nestor  of  food  preservers.  So  far  back  as  1810,  M.  Ap- 
pert  received  a  reward  of  12,000  francs  from  the  French  Govern- 
ment for  his  method  of  par-boiling  provisions  and  inclosing  them 
in  earthenware  vessels  in  such  a  manner  as  to  exclude  the  air. 
This  constitutes  the  great  difficulty  of  any  process  for  preserving 
food.  The  chemical  elements  which  enter  into  the  composition 
of  food  substances  are  placed  together  in  such  proportions  that 
their  union  is  held  very  loosely  together,  and,  as  soon  as  the  forces 
of  life  which  held  them  together  are  removed,  the  tendency  to  re- 
arrange their  particles  in  a  more  stable  and  permanent  manner 
commences — this  constitutes  putrefaction.  For  these  changes  to 
go  on,  it  is  not  necessary  that  the  substances  be  exposed  to  the 
air  permanently  ;  if  exposure  to  a  small  extent  at  the  commence- 


PRESERVED  FOOD. 


105 


merit  occur,  decomposition  will  set  in,  and  considerable  changes 
ensue  without  any  further  assistance  from  the  external  air.  This 
change  is  common  to  fruits  and  flesh  ;  if  before  being  packed,  de- 
composition have  set  in,  even  to  a  very  small  extent,  no  after- 
packing  will  check  the  progress  of  change  up  to  a  certain  point ; 
were  it  not  for  this  occurrence,  the  preservation  of  fruits  would 
be  a  very  easy,  whereas  it  is  at  present  a  very  difficult  process, 
and  limits  the  exportation  of  the  valued  fruits  of  this  country  to 
Northern  Europe.  In  both  vegetables  and  meat  it  is  in  the 
juices  containing  albumen  (a  substance  resembling  the  white  of 
an  egg)  that  fermentation  or  decomposition  first  sets  in ;  and, 
could  this  be  moderated  or  checked,  the  after  preservation  might 
be  more  manageable.  By  exposing  the  meat  to  a  heat  of  150° 
to  200°,  the  albumen  is  coagulated  ;  and,  as  this  is  much  slower 
to  putrefy  than  when  liquid,  it  explains  the  common  observation 
that  cooked  meat  will  keep  longer  than  raw.  But  it  will  not 
keep  long  so  ;  it"  must  be  now  excluded  from  any  further  action 
of  the  air,  both  internally  and  externally.  The  air  in  the  inter- 
nal parts  is  removable  by  boiling,  and  that  on  the  exterior  by 
packing  in  air-tight  cases.  The  following  out  of  these  principles 
in  practice  constitutes  the  process  of  M.  Appert,  who  is  enabled  to 
pack  large  cases  of  provisions  and  meat  freed  from  bone,  which, 
from  the  trials  which  have  been  made  with  them  on  long  voy- 
ages, fully  justify  the  high  estimation  in  which  the  process  is 
held.  The  original  process  has  been  improved  by  the  inventor  in 
France  and  in  England,  by  Douken  and  Bevan,  and  Appert  is 
now  able  to  box  up  in  one  case  one  hundred  and  fifty  pounds  of 
flesh,  which  may  be  kept  sweet  indefinitely  long.  There  is  one 
case  preserved  in  this  way  in  his  collection, 

In  the  French  Department,  also,  is  a  collection  of  dried  vege- 
tables, prepared  after  Masson's  process,  which  preserves  the  tex- 
ture, flavor  and  qualities  of  the  vegetable  exceedingly  well. 
This  process  consists  in  slicing  cabbage,  turnips,  apples  or  what- 
ever vegetable  may  be  selected,  and  drying  them  in  an  oven 
until  about  eight  per  cent,  of  the  water  in  them  is  driven  ofT; 
this  drying  must  not  be  conducted  either  too  rapidly  or  too  slowly  ; 
after  drying,  the  vegetables  are  packed  into  a  very  small  com- 
pass by  the  intense  pressure  of  a  hydraulic  press :  then  squared 

5* 


100 


THE  GREAT  EXHIBITION. 


and  trimmed  with  a  knife,  packed  up  in  tinfoil,  and  stored  in 
boxes.  Specimens  of  various  vegetables,  beans  and  pulse,  are  ex- 
hibited in  this  department ;  and  of  the  value  of  this  mode  of  pre- 
servation we  can  speak  in  the  highest  terms,  having  during  last 
year  tasted  the  articles  when  cooked. 

Rodel  &  Sons,  Bordeaux,  have  a  collection  of  preserved  meats 
and  vegetables,  with  fruits  in  brandy.  Fiton  &  Son,  and  others, 
have  similar  collections.  This  department  is  rich  also  in  its  ex- 
hibition of  preserved  sardines.  Taken  as  a  whole,  the  collections 
of  preserved  food  are  creditable  to  the  exhibitors. 

We  have  searched  the  American  Department,  and  have  not 
found  any  exposition  from  two  of  our  countrymen,  whose  skill  in 
this  department  is  not  inferior  to  any  of  our  transatlantic  friends  : 
we  refer  to  the  meat-biscuit  preparation  of  G-ale  Borden,  and  the 
preserved  fruits  of  Wm.  Smiths  of  Macedon,  N.  Y.  The  meat- 
biscuit  is  now  an  approved  food,  having  received  a  prize  at  the 
London  Exhibition  :  it  is  formed  by  boiling  down  the  strong  beef 
of  Texas,  and  mixing  into  the  strong  beef-tea  thus  formed  a  cer- 
tain proportion  of  the  finest  flour.  Four  ounces  of  this  biscuit  are 
sufficient  food  for  a  man  on  active  service  :  it  is  light,  portable, 
and  keeps  without  change  :  owing  to  the  profusion  of  the  cattle 
in  Texas,  the  manufacture  of  the  meat-biscuit  is  carried  on  in 
that  State  near  to  Galveston. 

The  preserved  fruits  of  Mr.  Smith  are  perfectly  unrivalled  by 
any  other  specimens  of  their  kind.  His  process  is  different ;  he 
preserves  the  fruit  neither  in  syrup  nor  in  brandy,  but  in  its  own 
juices  or  a  fluid  of  the  same  density.  By  this  means,  the  burst- 
ing or  the  shrinking  of  pulpy  fruits  is  prevented,  and  the  flavor 
preserved  by  careful  peeling  under  water  and  preservation  from 
contact  with  the  air  in  all  its  stages.  The  fruit  is  of  the  same 
whiteness  as  in  its  fresh  state.  Why  are  not  these  in  this  Exhi- 
bition ?  Even  here  they  would  stand  unrivalled,  and  may  any- 
where challenge  competition. 

There  are  a  few  specimens  of  preserved  milk  in  the  American 
department,  as  also  exhibited  by  Chollot  &  Co.,  who  show  all 

*  Afterward  exhibited.  Mr.  Smith  has  removed  his  manufacture  from 
our  State  to  Wilmington,  Del,  iu  order  to  be  where  fruits  grow  more 
abundantly  and  luxuriantly. 


PRESERVED  FOOD.  m 

kinds  of  preserved  vegetable  aliments.  These  are  useful  pre- 
parations on  shipboard.  They  are  made  solid  by  partial  evapo- 
ration of  the  milk  and  the  subsequent  addition  of  farina  and 
sugar  until  the  whole  solidifies.  Perrin,  of  Paris,  displays  choco- 
late and  some  unpalatable-looking  preparations  from  the  blood  of 
domestic  animals. 


108 


THE  GREAT  EXHIBITION. 


X. 

PRODUCTS  OF  THE  SOIL. 

Our  first  survey  of  the  Exhibition  gave  us  the  impression  that 
there  was  absolutely  no  display  of  the  agricultural  productions 
of  the  United  States,  in  the  raw  or  natural  condition  of  their 
growth.  Not  finding  them  in  the  Agricultural  Department,  we 
had  supposed  there  was  an  entire  want  or  unfortunate  omission 
in  this,  to  us,  and  many  thousands  of  other  visitors,  most  inter- 
esting part  of  any  Exhibition  that  professes  to  present  a  view 
of  the  industry  of  all  nations — which  we  are  just  simple  enough 
to  suppose  should  include  our  own. 

"We  can,  however,  now  report  that  there  is  a  show  of  sub- 
stances used  for  human  food.  It  may  be  found  on  the  lower 
floor,  next  to  the  wall  upon  the  north-east  side,  looking  out 
towards  Forty-second-street.  As  you  enter  from  that  street, 
turn  to  ~ the  left,  and  you  will  soon  see  all  that  we  have  seen. 
The  first  articles  in  this  collection  that  you  will  be  likely  to 
notice,  are  a  baker's  dozen  of  very  large  and  very  ancient- 
looking  edible  roots.  There  is  no  name,  nor  anything  to  indicate 
what  they  are,  or  where  they  are  from,  or  why  they  are  there, 
the  sole  representatives  of  their  numerous  family,  and  it  is  very 
difficult  for  lookers-on  to  guess.  We  happened  to  be  able  to 
teli  sundry  inquirers  that  they  were  California  potatoes; 
whereat  they  stared  and  wondered  amazingly. 

Next  to  these  are  seven  ears  of  Missouri  white-dent  corn 
(maize),  of  large  size,  small  cob  and  long  grains,  produced,  as 
a  label  tells  us,  by  careful  selection  of  seed.  This  is  right,  and 
really  useful,  interesting  information.  Next  to  these  are  nine 
other  ears  in  the  husk,  of  similar  white  corn,  which  we  guess 
came  from  the  South  or  West.  Next  are  three  ears  of  corn, 
also  white,  which  any  one  who  knows  can  say  was  grown  some- 


PRODUCTS  OF  THE  SOIL. 


109 


where  in  the  Northern  States,  from  its  general  appearance  and 
round,  smooth  grains.  Then  comes  a  Minnesota  collection — 
four  white  ears,  twelve  yellow  ditto  bastard  gourd-seed  corn  ; 
half  an  ear  mixed  blue  and  white,  and  three  quart  boxes  fuli  of 
shelled  corn;  one  striped  dent,  one  purple  flint,  one  yellow 
ditto  ;  one  quart  of  barley  ;  one  of  spring  wheat ;  one  of  winter 
ditto,  and  one  of  wild  rice ;  also  a  mocock  (Indian  pack)  of  the 
same — exhibited  by  M.  Le  Due,  D.  Gil  man,  Captain  Todd,  of 
the  Army,  and  Sylvanus  Lowry,  whose  names  are  an  honor  to 
Minnesota,  the  only  section  of  the  United  States  making  any 
pretence  toward  a  show.  There  are  also  two  quarts  of  common 
field  beans,  and  two  other  little  sacks,  which  may  possibly  con- 
tain some  very  uncommon  ones,  or  something  else.  There  is 
a  beautifully  arrayed  case  of  ears  and  grains  of  Indian  corn, 
intended  to  show  all  the  kinds  grown  in  this  State,  for  which  we 
are  indebted  to  Col.  B.  P.  Johnson,  Secretary  of  the  New- York 
Agricultural  Society;  as  well  as  for  two  other  cases  of  English 
grain.  This  case  of  corn  would  be  very  interesting,  but  it  is 
placed  in  such  a  bad  light  that  nobody  can  see  it  to  any  advan- 
tage. Now  tell  it  not  in  Gath,  but  hear,  ye  Farmers  of  the 
United  States,  and  listen,  ye  Managers  of  this  Exhibition  of 
Industry,  this  is  the  sum  total  of  your  agricultural  products,  in 
the  raw  state  ! 

There  is  in  the  same  neighborhood  a  good  show  of  highly 
finished  Flour  Barrels,  which  probably  contain  very  white 
Flour.  There  are  several  neat-looking  bottles  of  Pickles,  and 
a  hogshead,  said  to  contain  Sugar  from  a  Southern  plantation. 
There  are  some  very  white  refined  Sugar,  and  some  pure-look- 
ing Potato  Starch,  and  possibly  a  few  other  edible  things. 
There  is  a  case  with  some  samples  of  yard-long  Wool — the  ani- 
mals which  produced  it  are  among  the  outside  shows;  one  glass 
case  of  what  probably  may  be  eight  fleeces  of  fine  Wool,  but  as 
yet  invisible ;  one  case  of  fine  Cotton,  and  several  bales  of  that 
article ;  and  also  some  bales  of  Hemp  and  Flax.  If  this  does 
not  comprise  the  sum  total  of  the  farm,  we  hope  somebody  will 
correct  our  list,  which  in  fact  includes  manufactured  articles — 
as  refined  Sugar,  Starch,  ginned  Cotton,  and  dressed  Flax  and 
Hemp.    There  is  one  dry  limb  of  a  Cotton-stalk,  showing  the 


110 


THE  GREAT  EXHIBITION. 


Cotton  as  it  appears  when  ready  to  pick  ;  but  that  is  stuck  up 
almost  out  of  sight,  with  no  name  to  tell  what  it  is,  or  where 
it  grew,  or  whether  it  grew  at  all — a  fact  about  which  many 
who  look  at  it  are  quite  uncertain. 

And  this  is  the  JSTew  York  World's  Fair  Exhibition  of  Industry 
and  Production  of  American  Farmers  !  Can  anything  more  dis- 
graceful to  that  class  of  our  citizens,  upon  whom  all  other  classes 
are  dependent,  be  conceived  ?  Is  there  any  one  thing  in  the  Crystal 
Palace  of  so  much  importance,  or  that  would  have  been  so  in- 
teresting to  so  many  people,  as  a  collection  of  Indian  Corn  from 
every  state  in  the  union,  showing  at  a  glance  all  the  varieties 
grown,  both  in  plants  and  ears,  from  the  eighteen-feet-high  stalks 
of  the  Ohio  valley,  to  the  little  dwarf  of  Lake  Winnipiseogee  ? 
It  is  of  no  use  to  repeat  that  stale  falsehood,  "  want  of  room," 
for  an  excuse  for  this  outrageous  neglect,  because  hundreds  of 
feet  of  bare  walls  are  too  palpable  a  contradiction  of  such  an 
assertion.  Room  could  be  found  for  an  ordinary  Broadway  om- 
nibus ;  for  every-day-seen  fire-engines  ;  for  common  brass  cannon 
and  oft-exhibited  gun-carriages  and  ammunition  wagons  ;  but  are 
these,  one  and  all,  of  one  hundredth  part  as  much  importance  or 
interest  to  visitors,  as  would  be  a  stalk  of  growing  cotton  in  full 
bloom  and  bearing. 

How  many  of  the  visitors  to  this  Exhibition  of  Industry  ever 
saw  that  product  of  an  American  farmer's  industry,  a  stalk  of 
growing  Sugar-Cane  ?  With  what  delight  thousands  would  gaze 
at  it  !  and  it  is  not  too  late,  perhaps,  now,  if  the  managers  had 
half  the  desire  to  do  honor  to  those  who  cultivate  the  soil,  that 
they  have  to  court  the  favor  of  men  whose  trade  is  in  blood,  guns, 
swords,  and  powder ;  or  who  work  in  marble,  precious  metals, 
and  fine  linen,  in  foreign  countries.  There  would  be  no  clap-trap 
about  the  announcement  of  an  arrival  of  Indian  Corn  and  very 
superior  Seed- Wheat,  from  John  Smith's  farm  in  Oquaquanock  ; 
and  no  need  of  the  humbug  of  a  Bonded  Warehouse,  and  highly- 
paid  officers  of  the  Custom-House,  to  receive  and  take  care  of  a 
collection  of  American  farm-products.  Yet,  in  such  a  collection, 
those  who  live  by  industry,  and  grow  produce  for  the  sustenance 
of  those  who  do  not  even  know  the  meaning  of  the  word,  might 
learn  lessons  never  to  be  forgotten  ;  for  they  might  learn  how  to 


PRODUCTS  OF  THE  SOIL. 


Ill 


improve  the  quality  of  their  seed,  and  make  two  blades  grow 
where  but  one  grew  before. 

It  is  not  yet  too  late  to  remedy  this  great  oversight  and  total 
neglect  of  the  most  important  branch  of  American  industry. 
Give  an  invitation  to  farmers  to  send  in  samples  of  every  choice 
kind  of  seed,  plants,  and  valuable  farm  productions,  and  let  them 
be  carefully  arranged  so  as  to  show  the  varied  productions  of 
different  states,  and  then  there  will  be  an  Agricultural  Depart- 
ment worthy  the  name,  in  an  exhibition  of  industry,  the  mana- 
gers of  which  seem  to  have  forgotten  that  the  productions  of  the 
soil  are  the  base  of  all  wealth,  and  that  mechanical  industry  is  of 
but  little  use  when  the  soil  and  its  cultivators  are  neglected,  or 
treated  as  though  they  were  not  considered  of  any  importance  to 
the  rest  of  the  community. 

Note. — We  believe  a  few  articles  were  added  to  this  department  after 
the  above  was  written ;  but  not  enough  to  change  its  general  aspect  from 
barrenness  to  plenty.  This  chapter  is  given  as  a  hint  to  future  managers  of 
Exhibitions.  Display  all  the  rare  fabrics  and  curious  devices  you  can  gather, 
but  do  not  forget  to  exhibit  also  specimens  of  all  the  important  products  of 
the  soil 


112 


THE  GREAT  EXHIBITION 


XL 

PORCELAIN. 

Those  who  witnessed  the  London  Exhibition  of  1851,  and 
examined  the  products  of  manfacture  there,  must  be  struck 
with  the  difference  which  exists  between  that  and  this  in  our 
city,  in  at  least  one  particular.  There  the  raw  material  was  ex- 
hibited in  both  its  crude  and  dressed  forms,  and  portions  were 
selected  at  the  various  stages  .of  perfection,  in  which  its  progress 
or  alteration  could  be  made  manifest.  The  whole  process  of 
manufacture  was  thus  exhibited  at  a  glance,  and  the  mind  not 
only  became  aware  of  what  the  manufactured  article  was  made 
from,  but  it  became  impressed  with  the  improvement,  the  skill 
and  the  taste,  which  mark  our  own  times.  Here,  however,  this 
is  rarely  to  be  witnessed.  The  fine  article  is  exhibited  without 
the  course  material.  In  the  expositions  of  Iron  and  Steel,  the 
ore,  or  native  source  from  which  it  is  obtained,  might  with  ad- 
vantage be  placed  in  juxta-position,  so  that  the  Crystal  Palace 
might  be  a  school  of  knowledge,  as  well  as  a  theatre  of  admira- 
tion. This  remark  applies  with  especial  force  to  the  exhibition 
of  Glass  and  Porcelain.  The  contrast  between  the  raw  materi- 
als and  the  beautiful  products  is  startling,  but  it  is  not  here  vi- 
sible. u  Who,"  says  Johnson,  speaking  of  Glass,  when  he  saw 
the  first  sand  or  ashes,  by  a«casual  intenseness  of  heat,  melted 
into  a  metallic  form,  rugged  with  excrescences,  and  clouded 
with  impurities,  "would  have  imagined  that  in  this  shapeless 
lump  lay  concealed  so  many  conveniences  of  life  as  wrould  in 
time  constitute  a  great  part  of  the  happiness  of  this  world  V 

The  formation  of  earthen  vessels,  or  the  ceramic  art,  divides 
itself  into  two  branches— that  of  Pottery,  as  it  is  commonly 
termed,  and  that  of  China-ware.  There  is  not  so  much  differ- 
ence in-  the  materials  employed  in  each  branch,  as  in  the  man- 
ner of  treating  them,  the  material  for  porcelain  being  semi 


PORCELAIN. 


113 


fused,  and  thus  more  nearly  approaching  in  its  nature  to  glass. 
It  is  curious  to  see,  by  the  articles  exhibited,  how  zealously 
these  two  branches  have  been  cultivated  by  rival  nations,  the 
excellence  of  the  British  department  being  in  the  articles  of 
del/  or  common  household  ware,  while  the  taste  and  skill  of 
Trance  have  been  devoted  to  the  perfection  of  Porcelain.  The 
show  of  these  articles  lies  chiefly  with  these  two  nations,  for  the 
samples  of  ware  fabricated  on  this  continent  are  few,  and  not  of 
a  high  degree  of  perfection.  It  cannot  be  said  to  be  an  indige- 
nous art,  although  Vermont  and  the  other  New  England  States, 
as  well  as  New  York,  furnish  an  abundance  of  very  pure  mate- 
rials. The  wealth  to  patronize  extensively  exists  here,  perhaps, 
but  the  skill  to  execute  is  yet  a  desideratum.  Nor  is  this  ab- 
sence of  manufacture  peculiar  to  our  people.  If  we  put  aside 
the  Chinese,  there  are  but  three  nations  who  can  export  pottery 
to  any  extent — first,  England  ;  then,  France ;  and  lastly,  Ger- 
many. 

The  fabrication  of  Porcelain  is  an  art  half  chemical — half  me- 
chanical. Transferred  from  China,  to  which  by  prescriptive 
right  it  belonged,  it  has  been  imitated  as  an  art  in  Central  Eu- 
rope, with  little  advance  beyond  the  Asiatic  originals.  It  is  not 
a  century  since  the  strangest  views  were  entertained  respecting 
the  composition  and  nature  of  China  ware.  Reaumur  proved 
that  the  mixture  of  two  peculiar  earths  found  in  China,  called 
petun-tse  and  kaolin,  produced  porcelain.  The  next  step  in  ad- 
vance was  to  discover  if  any  earths  similar  to  these  existed  in 
Europe.  The  Jesuit,  Francis  Xavier  d'Entrecolles,  who  was 
residing  as  missionary  in  China,  contrived  to  elude  the  jealous 
vigilance  exercised  toward  strangers,  and  not  only  forwarded 
to  France  the  specimens  of  the  earths,  but  also  the  knowledge 
of  the  manufacture,  which  he  had  acquired.  They  were,  how- 
ever, worthless,  owing  to  his  want  of  practical  intelligence. 
Much  about  the  same  time,  Baron  de  Botticher,  a  German  al- 
chemist, established  the  porcelain  manufacture  in  Saxony,  by 
accident.  While  following  out  some  vain  researches  for  the 
philosopher's  stone,  ha  prepared  some  crucibles,  and,  having 
burned  the  clay  over  much,  he  observed  it  had  all  the  charac- 
ters of  Oriental  porcelain.    He  saw  the  importance  of  this  real 


1H 


THE  GREAT  EXHIBITION. 


discovery,  and,  abandoning  alchemy,  he  commenced  the  manu- 
facture of  Dresden  porcelain.  The  secrecy  attempted  in  the 
processes  could  not  be  retained,  and  with  partial  knowledge  and 
national  rivalry,  the  establishments  of  St.  Cloud  and  the  Fau- 
bourg St.  Antoine  were  commenced  about  1719.  White  por- 
celain only  was  manufactured  in  these  places.  It  wTas  of  beau- 
tiful appearance  externally,  but  wanting  in  all  that  consti- 
tutes good  china. 

The  manufactory  at  Sevres,  in  France,  was  started  and  main- 
tained under  royal  auspices,  and  the  works  there  produced  speci- 
mens of  art  which  vied  successfully  with  Dresden  and  China. 
"When  Frederick  the  Great  conquered  Saxony,  he  forcibly  carried 
away  several  of  the  best  workmen  from  the  manufactory  at 
Meissen,  near  Dresden,  and  conveyed  them  to  Berlin,  where,  since 
that  time,  a  considerable  manufacture  has  been  carried  on.  As 
many  as  five  hundred  men  are  employed  in  the  Royal  Prussian 
establishment ;  but  the  quality  of  the  porcelain  fabricated  has 
never  equalled  that  of  Dresden. 

The  manufacture  of  coarse  earthen-ware  in  Staffordshire,  Eng- 
land, goes  as  far  back  as  the  time  of  the  Romans.  In  the  year 
1690,  two  brothers,  named  Elers,  from  Nuremberg,  settled  at 
Brad  well,  where  they  made  an  improved  red- ware,  and  intro- 
duced the  glazing  of  the  vessels  by  throwing  common  salt  into 
the  oven.  Jealousy  succeeded  in  driving  these  two  men  out  of 
the  country,  after  the  secret  was  stolen  from  them.  Astbury 
succeeded  them  in  the  manufacture,  and  introduced  a  white  stone- 
ware, which,  it  is  said,  accident  brought  under  his  notice.  In 
travelling  on  horseback  to  London,  his  horse's  eyes  became  at- 
tacked with  some  disorder  ;  an  ostler  of  the  inn  where  he  stopped, 
cured  them  by  burning  a  flint,  and  reducing  it  to  a  fine  powder 
before  he  blew  it  into  the  horse's  eye.  The  potter,  observing  the 
beautiful  white  color  of  the  calcined  flint,  immediately  saw  how 
it  might  be  applied  as  an  ingredient  in  his  own  business.  This 
step  in  advance,  led  the  way  to  the  improvements  of  Isaiah  Wedge- 
wood,  with  whose  name  this  beautiful  art,  in  England,  is  indis- 
solubly  linked.  Of  the  seven  various  kinds  of  ware  introduced 
by  him,  two  are  of  especial  value  :  one,  his  table  ware,  or  Q,ueen's- 
ware,  as  it  is  commonly  known,  and  the  porcelain  biscuit  or 


PORCELAIN. 


115 


Wedge  wood-ware,  of  which  mortars  and  other  chemical  utensils 
are  made.  These  inventions  of  Wedge  wood  showed  that  porce- 
lain could  be  made  in  England.  Cook  worthy  discovered  the 
earths  in  Cornwall,  and,  having  secured  to  himself,  by  patent, 
the  exclusive  right  of  using  these  materials,  was  the  first  person 
who  made  true  porcelain  in  that  country.  This  was  in  1768. 
It  is  now  manufactured  at  Derby,  Coalport  in  Shropshire,  Wor- 
cester, and  Swinton  in  Yorkshire. 

Porcelain  is  a  mixture  of  earths,  which,  by  subsequent  heating, 
is  semi-fused.  Reaumur's  experiments  show  this  clearly  :  he 
took  the  two  earths  from  China,  called  petun-tse  and  kaolin, 
made  a  small  cake  of  each  substance,  and  exposed  them  to  the 
heat  of  a  strong  furnace  ;  the  petun-tse  was  fused  by  this  means 
without  any  addition,  while  the  other,  the  kaolin,  gave  no  signs 
of  fusion.  He  then  intimately  mixed  them  both,  and  found, 
when  the  mixture  was  baked,  that  it  had  acquired  all  the  quali- 
ties of  the  finest  Chinese  ware.  It  is  thus  by  a  mixture  of  an 
earth  which  is  fusible  by  heat,  (petun-tse)  and  one  which  is  in- 
fusible, (kaolin)  the  whole,  being  semi-vitrified,  becomes  partially 
transparent.  Porcelain  stands  intermediate  between  pottery  and 
glass  ;  were  it  wholly  infusible,  it  would  be  earthen-ware  ;  were 
both  materials  fusible,  it  would  be  glass. 

These  two  earths  are  obtained  in  China,  and  are  produced  by 
the  decomposition  of  granite.  Latterly,  in  some  instances,  the 
Chinese  use  a  coarse  granite,  in  which  the  crystals  of  feldspar  are 
are  large,  (pegmatite)  which  they  reduce  to  powder,  form  into 
shapes,  and  submit  to  the  furnace,  and  from  which  a  very  good 
porcelain  is  made.  Mr.  Ebelman,  a  distinguished  chemist,  and 
director  of  the  porcelain  works  at  Sevres,  has  made  a  series  of 
experiments  on  the  materials  used  at  present  by  the  Chinese, 
which  are  of  great  value  to  the  manufacturers.  Kaolin  is  a  very 
fine  clay,  or  silicate  of  alumina,  which  the  shores  of  Lake  Cham- 
plain,  both  on  the  New  York  and  Vermont  side,  abundantly  sup- 
ply. It  is  also  found  in  every  New  England  state,  and  in  the 
valleys  of  districts  surrounded  by  granite  rocks.  It  is  derived 
from  the  action  of  the  atmosphere  upon  the  mineral  feldspar. 
Petun-tse  is  the  fine  silicious  matter  of  the  granite  rocks,  and  is  in 
all  other  countries,  except  China,  superseded  by  ground  flint  or 


116 


THE  GREAT  EXHIBITION. 


opaque  quartz  in  very  fine  dust.  These  materials  are  ground  to 
impalpable  dust,  made  into  a  cream  with  water,  some  calcined 
bone  added,  and  the  water  is  then  evaporated  off  until  the  mix- 
ture has  the  solidity  suitable  for  working  it  into  shapes.  It  is 
then  placed  upon  the  wheel  and  lathe  to  be  turned  into  form. 
Sometimes  it  is  pressed  into  shape  in  plaster  moulds.  It  is  then 
placed  in  the  ovens  or  biscuit-kilns  to  be  fired.  Here  it  must 
neither  be  soiled  nor  overheated.  To  avoid  these,  it  is  enclosed 
in  "  seggars,"  or  earthen  vessels.  After  being  baked,  it  is  grad- 
ually cooled,  and  appears  as  what  is  termed  biscuit-ware,  being 
of  a  soft,  dead- white,  delicate  appearance.  It  is  then  glazed  by 
dipping  the  articles  into  a  vessel  of  water  containing  the  materials 
of  glass  in  a  pulpy  state.  "When  coated  with  this,  they  are 
replaced  in  the  oven  to  be  fired  a  second  time,  by  which  the  glass 
materials  are  melted,  and  a  thin  varnish  of  glass  is  thus  spread 
over  the  outside  of  the  ware.  It  is  subsequently  painted,  gilded, 
and  enamelled,  by  beautiful  processes.  It  is  now  that  finished 
and  recherche  article,  of  which  there  are  exquisite  specimens  in 
the  Exhibition. 

Of  the  porcelain,  the  large  majority  is  in  the  French  and  British 
departments. 

In  the  former,  the  collection  of  L.  Andre,  Pilliougt  &  Co.,  de- 
serves inspection  ;  the  assortment  of  colored  and  gilt  china  dinner 
service  and  vases ;  a  dessert  service,  of  low  comporter  pattern ; 
a  toilet-set,  in  blue  and  gold,  with  flowers,  is  among  the  beautiful 
contributions  from  this  establishment.  In  the  article  of  vases  and 
in  fancy  porcelain,  there  is  nothing  in  the  Palace  which  approaches 
the  specimens  shown  by  Messrs.  Haviland  &  Co.,  of  Limoges,  and 
of  John-street  in  this  city  ;  the  large  size  of  these  ornaments,  the 
beauty  of  the  coloring,  clearness  of  the  picture,  and  the  chasteness 
of  the  designs,  place  them  in  the  first  rank.  The  representation 
of  the  dancing  girl,  from  Victor  Hugo's  novel  of  Notre  Dame,  is 
well  executed  on  the  body  of  the  vases.  The  collection  consists 
of  a  centre-piece,  two  larger  and  four  smaller  vases,  and  a  dinner- 
service  in  pink  and  gold. 

Rees  &  Co.,  of  Limoges,  exhibit  specimens  of  their  ware. 
"With  the  exception  of  one  noble  vase,  the  articles  are  not  of  the 
first  quality ;  a  collection  of  Parian  statuary  is  upon  this  stand. 


PORCELAIN. 


117 


In  the  English  department,  Sampson  Bridgewood  &  Son,  of 
Staffordshire,  exhibit  a  good  collection  of  delf  and  soft  china. 
Kidgeway,  of  Staffordshire,  has  a  collection  of  gilt  china.  It  may  be 
stated  here'  that  the  English  porcelain  is  almost  always  what  is 
termed  soft  porcelain,  or  made  of  materials  which  melt  or  form  a 
semi-fused  mass  at  a  lower  temperature  than  those  manufactured  in 
France.  This  is  due  to  the  employment  of  bones  by  the  British 
manufacturers,  which  give  a  kind  of  semi-transparent  enamel  ; 
this  compensates  to  some  extent  for  the  incomplete  fusion  of  the 
clay  in  the  British  porcelain.  From  this  it  may  be  perceived  that 
French  porcelain,  as  a  ware,  is  a  superior  article,  quite  inde- 
pendent of  the  superior  taste  exhibited  in  the  ornamentation. 

Rose  &  Co.,  of  Coalport,  Shropshire,  have  an  extensive  collec- 
tion of  gilt  and  vari-colorcd  china,  in  dinner  and  tea-services, 
urns,  vases,  pitchers.  Some  jewelled  vases  and  some  with  two- 
necked  swans  are  of  great  beauty  ;  a  queen's  pattern  vase,  painted 
and  gilt,  is  an  object  worth  inspecting.  This  collection  eminently 
displays  the  superiority  of  Great  Britain  in  the  design  and  manu- 
facture of  domestic  wares,  which  do  not  imply  elaborate  design 
and  ornament.  Minton  &  Co.'s,  Stoke-upon-Trent,  occupy  a  very 
respectable  position  in  the  Exhibition.  Among  the  most  promi- 
nent articles  in  their  collection  is  a  dessert  service  of  great 
beauty  ;  it  is  a  combination  of  statuary  porcelain,  which  is  of  the 
hard  kind,  with  the  gilded  and  colored  porcelain,  which  is  of  the 
soft  kind.  The  ground  of  turquoise  almost  approaches  that  on  the 
Old  Sevres.  The  service  consists  of  a  hundred  and  sixteen  pieces. 
They  are  flower-stands,  with  figures  emblematic  of  the  seasons ; 
wine-coolers,  with  hunting  groups ;  oval  baskets,  with  eastern 
figures  ;  many  of  the  pieces  are  supported  by  Parisian  figures. 
The  plates  (six  dozen)  are  perforated  and  highly  ornamented, 
each  differently.  Q,ueen  Victoria  purchased  the  original  collec- 
tion (of  which  this  is  a  duplicate)  for  one  thousand  guineas,  and 
made  a  present  of  it  to  the  Emperor  of  Austria. 

The  most  useful  articles  in  Minton' s  collection  are  the  samples 
of  encaustic  Venetian  and  other  ornamental  tiles  for  flooring. 
These  pavements  are  now  used  in  the  flooring  of  churches  and 
other  buildings  in  this  city  and  elsewhere  on  this  continent.  The 
encaustic  tiles  are  made  from  the  wet  or  slip  clay,  pressed  into 


118 


THE  GREAT  EXHIBITION. 


blocks,  and  faced  with  a  finer  clay,  colored  to  the  desired  tint. 
The  whole  is  then  put  in  a  box-press,  and  a  plaster  slab,  contain- 
ing the  pattern  in  relief,  brought  down  with  force  upon  the  lace 
of  the  tile  ;  upon  this,  deeply  indented  surface  clay,  in  a  semi- 
fluid, is  poured.  This  clay  is  generally  of  a  deep  color,  and,  after 
lying  twenty-four  hours  on  the  tile,  becomes  hard.  The  super- 
fluous clay  is  scraped  off,  and  the  surface  mechanically  cleaned 
and  smoothed,  and  the  tile  is  then  baked  in  the  oven.  This  pro- 
cess is  almost  similar  to  the  mediaeval  one,  and  Mr.  Minton  is  en- 
titled to  the  credit  of  having  revived  it  with  increased  beauty 
and  utility. 

The  Mosaics  are  made  from  stained  dry  clays,  which  are 
pressed  and  baked,  and  afterward  formed  into  moulds  by  mixing 
with  plaster  or  Homan  cement.  The  variety  of  uses  and  the 
beauty  of  patterns  are  well  shown  in  Minton' s  collection,  which 
consists  of  slabs  for  fireplaces,  jambs,  and  other  branches  of  house 
ornament.  The  pressure  exercised  to  form  these  dry  tiles  is  im- 
mense, being,  in  the  steam  machine  working  by  Prosser's  patent, 
equal  to  four  hundred  tons.  Each  machine  can  make  five  thou- 
sand tiles  an  hour,  and  but  one  man  is  required  to  take  out  the 
finished  article.  A  Council  Medal  was  awarded  to  Messrs.  Min- 
ton in  the  London  Exhibition.  Minton  &  Co.  have  also  a  col- 
lection of  Parian  figures  of  great  variety  and  excellence. 

The  introduction  of  statuary  porcelain,  or  Parian  figures,  is  a 
branch  of  porcelain  manufacture  in  which  Great  Britain  has  ad- 
vanced beyond  France  and  Germany.  This  imitation  of  marble 
was  originated  in  Alderman  Copeland's  works  (Stoke-upon-Trent), 
early  in  1842.  It  is  now  fabricated  in  almost  all  the  factories  of 
Staffordshire,  but  excellence  in  the  finish,  and  beauty  in  artistic  de- 
sign, are  still  maintained  by  Mr.  Copeland,  and  the  collection  of 
Parian  statuettes  on  his  tables  are  the  gems  of  their  kind  in  the  Ex- 
hibition. Parian  material  is  a  porcelain  in  which  a  soft  feldspar  is 
used  instead  of  the  more  silicious  Cornwall  stone.  The  dulness  of 
the  tint,  which  adds  to  its  beauty,  is  due  to  a  little  oxyde  of  iron  ac- 
cidentally present  in  the  clay.  This,  uniting  with  the  silica  of  the 
clay,  forms  a  silicate  of  peroxyde  of  iron  of  a  light  yellow  color. 
These  figures,  instead  of  being  pressed  into  moulds  as  in  the  case 
of  porcelain,  are  cast  with  the  materials  in  a  liquid  state,  or 


PORCELAIN.  119 

plaster  with  water.  As  all  clays  contract  in  drying,  when  these 
are  fired  they  contract  as  much  as  one-fourth,  and,  what  is  more 
difficult  to  manage,  they  contract  unequally,  in  proportion  to  the 
mass  of  material  in  different  parts  of  the  figure.  Hence,  dexterity 
and  a  good  knowledge  of  the  human  form  are  requisite,  as  the 
subjects  are  cast  in  separate  pieces,  and  have  to  he  united  after- 
ward by  a  skilful  artist.  Besides  the  beauty  of  this  kind  of  bis- 
cuit-ware, the  fidelity  with  which  the  chef  d'ceuvres  of  sculptors 
are  copied  by  Copeland,  enhances  the  value  of  this  collection. 
Among  the  fine  statuettes,  we  may  mention  the  groups  of  the 
"  Prodigal  Son,"  an  imitation  of  a  Cellini  vase  ;  "  The  Struggle 
for  the  Heart," 'consisting  of  two  cupids  from  Flamingo  ;  "  Ino  and 
Bacchus,"  from  the  original  marble  of  Foley,  the  reduction  being 
effected  by  Cheverton's  process, — a  very  pretty  group  twenty- 
four  inches  high  ;  "  The  Return  from  the  Vintage,"  a  fine  group 
of  seven  figures,  twenty-six  inches  high  ;  "  The  Love  Story"  and 
"Paul  and  Virginia,"  two  small  groups;  "  Eve  Tempted,"  is  a 
beautiful  design,  the  apple  being  presented  in  the  serpent's 
mouth  ;  and  the  four  Children  of  Queen  Victoria  emblematizing 
the  four  seasons,  after  Mrs.  Thorneyeroft's  originals.  Besides 
there  are  some  fine  chivalric  groups.  In  the  same  ware  is  a 
complete  tea-service,  which  appears  to  us  a  very  interesting  appli- 
cation of  biscuit.  Copeland  also  exhibits  porcelain  dinner  and 
tea-services  ;  two  pink  Etruscan  vases,  jewelled,  and  extremely 
beautiful  small  jewelled  vases ;  these  last  articles  fetch  a  high 
price.  We  have  lingered  over  the  collections  of  Parian  ware  with 
great  pleasure,  as  the  introduction  of  this  material  is  destined  to 
effect  for  statuary  what  electrotyping  accomplishes  in  the  harder 
metals ;  it  facilitates  the  reproduction  of  the  works  of  the  finest 
artists  in  a  material  less  costly  than  marble,  with  their  multiplica- 
tion to  any  number  of  copies,  and  the  elevation  of  the  public  taste 
in  articles  of  fancy.  We  cannot  have  manufactures  of  the  kind  in 
this  country  without  a  cultivation  of  taste  as  well  in  the  public  to 
foster,  a3  in  the  artist  to  produce  and  for  the  latter,  Schools  of 
Design  are  absolutely  necessary.  We  have  stated  that  the  porce- 
lain and  earthenware  in  the  Fair  is  almost  exclusively  foreign ; 
there  being  no  articles  of  fine  manufacture  in  the  American  De- 
partment which  are  native ;  those  of  Dailey  and  Haughwout 


120  -THE  GREAT  EXHIBITION, 

being  imported,  though  the  ornamentation  is  done  here,  but  mostly 
by  foreign  artists ;  nor  can  such  a  branch  of  industry  exist  in  all 
its  departments  until  we  have  the  means  of  technical  education 
afforded  by  Polytechnic  Schools  and  Galleries  of  Art  and  Design. 

In  the  United  States  Department  is  an  exhibition  of  a  similar 
manufacture,  which  is  well  worthy  of  observation  by  all  those 
who  take  delight  in  the  progress  of  American  art  and  skill. 
This  is  in  the  space  allotted  to  the  United  States  Pottery  Com- 
pany of  Bennington,  Vermont,  who  display  Porcelain,  Parian, 
Lava  and  Enamel  Flint  Wares.    The  articles  are  not  only 
manufactured  in  this  country,  but  the  materials  from  which 
they  are  made  are  of  this  continent  exclusively.    Indeed  we 
have  not  only  no  lack  of  good  delf  and  porcelain  material,  but  a 
surplus  of  mineral  matters  of  a  character  very  superior  to  the 
European  minerals,  and  which  have  now  become  an  article  of 
export  trade  to  England.    Such  is  our  feldspar,  which  is  very 
abundant  in  the  northern  New  England  States,  from  which  the 
decomposition,  of  which  the  kaolin  or  fine  clay,  which  enters 
into  the  composition  of  China  wares,  is  derived.    The  European 
kaolin  contains  a  small  trace  of  iron  derived  from  the  mica 
which  the  original  feldspar  always  possesses.    This  metal,  when 
not  separated  from  the  powdered  mineral,  communicates  a 
light  tint  or  cream-color  to  the  ware.    For  white  wares,  the 
iron  has  therefore  to  be  removed  by  chemical  washings,  which 
increases  the  cost  of  the  articles.     The  feldspar  from  New 
Hampshire  is  remarkably  free  from  mixture  with  iron,  and  is 
therefore  well  adapted  for  the  manufacture  of  a  white  body 
without  any  purification.    The  neighborhood  of  Bennington, 
Vermont,  is  one  well  adapted  for  the  establishment  of  a  pottery 
manufacture,  as  there  is  a  considerable  deposit  of  plastic  clay, 
which  is  met  with  in  large  quantities,  and  of  great  purity,  in  at 
least  a  dozen  other  places  in  Vermont.    Indeed,  there  is  no 
State  in  the  Union  better  adapted  for  manufacturing  porcelain 
and  other  earthen  wares,  containing,  as  has  been  stated,  all  the 
mineral  elements,  and  also  ores  of  iron  and  manganese.  These, 
however,  in  themselves,  constitute  but  a  portion  of  the  success 
of  any  branch  of  manufacture,  and  it  is  to  the  untiring  industry 
and  skill  of  Mr.  C.  W.  Fenton  that  this  country  is  indebted  for 


PORCELAIN". 


121 


the  establishment  of  this  art  at  Bennington.  He  has  labored 
over  thirty  years  to  advance  the  manufacture,  and  with  great 
pecuniary  expenditure  has  advanced  it  to  the  condition  in 
which  it  is  exhibited  in  this  collection  from  Bennington.  At  the 
sacrifice  of  time  and  health,  he  has  also  succeeded  in  introducing 
the  manufacture  of  Parian  Ware  in  this  country  ;  produced  the 
Flint  Enamel  Ware,  for  which  he  has  secured  a  patent ;  and  is 
engaged  in  the  extension  of  porcelain  manufacture,  which  has 
been  followed  by  other  establishments  in  this  country,  but  by 
no  means  to  the  same  satisfactory  development  as  by  him. 
The  United  States  Pottery  Company  are  now  erecting  a  very 
large  manufactory  at  Bennington,  which,  when  completed,  will 
furnish  porcelain  or  Parian  wares  equal  to  French  or  English, 
at  a  more  moderate  price,  owing  to  the  cheaper  cost  of  the  ma- 
terials, the  facilities  possessed  to  prepare  them,  and  the  supe- 
rior construction  of  the  kilns,  in  which  an  economy  of  fuel, 
with  a  more  steady  and  clearer  heat,  is  obtained.  To  the  artist 
and  superintendent  of  the  premises,  Mr.  D.  W.  Clark,  the  Com- 
pany owe  much  of  their  success  in  the  beauty  and  execution  of 
the  designs  and  articles. 

The  articles  exhibited  by  this  Company  are  of  porcelain  and 
Parian  ware,  lava  and  enamel  flint  wares.  Among  the  articles 
the  most  prominent  is  a  tile  floor,  which  underlies  the  whole  of 
the  articles,  embracing  a  space  of  seven  square  feet.  The  tiles 
are  inlaid  with  variegated  colors,  the  borders  displaying  the 
American  flag.  Upon  the  centre  of  the  floor  stands  a  monu- 
ment ten  feet  in  height.  The  first  or  lowest  section  represents 
the  "  lava  ware"  or  variegated  stone;  the  second  section  their 
"  flint  ware;"  the  third,  open  columns  inclosing  a  bust  of  Fen- 
ton,  the  designer  of  the  articles  on  exhibition  ;  the  fourth  section 
crowns  the  monument,  and  is  a  Parian  female  figure  presenting 
the  bible  to  a  child  on  a  monument  by  her  side. 

Around  this  monument  are  displayed  table  and  scale  stand- 
ards, Corinthian  capitals,  figures,  vases,  urns,  toilet-sets,  and  a 
great  variety  of  other  specimens  in  porcelain,  plain  and  inlaid. 
The  pitchers  in  porcelain  are  deserving  of  notice,  as  a  branch 
of  national  industry  ;  though  not  decorated  beyond  a  gilt  mold- 
ing, and,  therefore,  not  attractive  as  china,  yet  they  possess  the 


122 


THE  GREAT  EXHIBITION. 


first  elements  of  good  ware — that  is,  an  uniform  body  without 
any  waving,  and  of  well-mixed  and  fine  materials.  It  is  upon 
such  ware  only  that  ornaments  or  decoration  can  succeed,  and 
Mr.  Fenton  has  overcome  the  great  obstacle  in  the  producing 
of  ornamental  china,  namely — the  formation  of  a  ware  having 
the  essential  properties  of  good  porcelain — density,  whiteness, 
and  transparency. 

The  superiority  of  the  Flint  Enamel  Ware  over  the  English 
consists  in  the  addition  of  silica  combined  with  kaolin,  or 
clay  from  Vermont,  which,  when  in  properly  adjusted  propor- 
tions, produces  an  article  possessing  great  strength,  and  is  per- 
fectly fire-proof.  Telegraph  insulators  in  white  flint  are  on 
exhibition  ;  this  material  being  one  of  the  best  electric  non- 
conductors that  can  be  found.  Various  forms  of  insulators  are 
in  the  collection.  This  ware  has  been  employed  on  the  tele- 
graphs in  the  vicinity  of  Boston  :  among  these  specimens  is  a 
patented  form,  recommended  by  Mr.  Batchelder,  which  has  a 
shoulder  with  a  re-entering  angle  of  forty-five  degrees  ;  this 
angle  causes  the  wind  and  rain  to  pass  downward,  and  prevents 
the  inside  of  the  insulator  from  being  wet.  This  enamel  ware 
comprises  a  variety  of  assorted  articles,  candlesticks,  pitchers, 
spittoons,  picture-frames,  tea-pots,  &c.  This  ware  has  become 
a  favorite  article  in  New-England,  and  possesses  much  merit  as 
cottage  furniture.  The  lava  ware  is  a  combination  of  clays 
from  Vermont,  New-Jersey,  Carolina,  &c. ;  composed  of  silica 
and  feldspar,  intermixed  with  the  oxydes  of  iron,  manganese  and 
cobalt.  It  is  the  strongest  ware  made  from  pottery  materials ; 
the  glaze  upon  this  lava- ware  and  upon  the  flint-ware,  is  chiefly 
of  flint  and  feldspar,  and  has,  therefore,  to  be  subjected  to  such 
an  intense  heat  to  fuse  it,  as  would  destroy  the  glaze  upon  com- 
mon crockery.  The  colors  upon  the  flint- ware  are  produced  by 
different  metallic  oxydes  applied  on  the  glaze,  which  latter 
serves  as  a  medium  to  float  them  about  upon  the  surface,  while 
in  a  state  of  fusion,  thus  producing  the  variegated  tints. 

The  Parian  ware  of  this  Company  is  remarkably  fine,  espe- 
cially in  the  form  of  pitchers.  They  are  light  in  material,  of 
graceful  outline,  and  of  two  tints — one  fawn-colored,  from  the 
presence  of  a  little  oxyde  of  iron,  and  the  other  white,  from  its 


PORCELAIN. 


123 


absence.  To  us,  the  former  appears  the  more  pleasing  to  the 
eye.  These  are  made  of  the  flint  from  Vermont  and  Massa- 
chusetts, the  feldspar  from  New  Hampshire,  and  the  china 
clays  from  Vermont  and  South  Carolina.  This  Company  has 
the  credit  of  first  producing  Parian  ware  on  this  continent. 
China  has  been  heretofore  made  in  Philadelphia,  and  also  at 
Green  Point,  L.  L,  but  the  manufacture  is  now  only  carried  on 
in  the  latter  locality.  The  United  States  Pottery  Company  are 
at  present  enlarging  their  works  at  Bennington,  owing  to  the 
increased  consumption  of  their  wares,  where  they  are  fitting  up 
a  main  building,  160  feet  in  length,  and  giving  employment  to 
one  hundred  operatives,  using  water-power  for  grinding  the 
materials,  and  six  kilns,  of  an  improved  construction,  for  the 
firing  of  the  wares.  With  the  increased  facility  of  manufac- 
turing which  this  extension  affords,  this  market  will  be  supplied 
with  China  wares  of  a  superior  kind  manufactured  at  home,  and 
which  will  no  doubt  remunerate  the  Company  for  the  outlay 
incurred,  and  add  another  to  the  new  manufactures  established 
among  us. 

Haughwout  &  Daily  have  in  the  gallery  of  the  American 
Department  a  very  fine  collection  of  decorated  Porcelain, 
among  which  are  some  pitchers  with  salmon-colored  ground, 
and  lotus  leaves — a  pretty  toilet  set;  a  china  set,  made  for 
Baron  de  Longeuill,  C.  W.,  the  labor  and  design  of  which  occu- 
pied many  months ;  each  article  having  a  separate  pattern. 
There  is  also  a  beautiful  dessert  service,  a  centre-piece  and  a 
service  with  a  crimson  ground,  gilt  and  with  varied  devices  on 
each  article.  The  whole  collection  reflects  credit  on  the  exhibit- 
ors, who  have  established  the  art  of  decorating  china  in  this 
city.  Haughwout  &  Daily  also  exhibit  on  the  lower  floor  a 
collection  of  Cornelius's  Gas  Fixtures.  Cornelius,  of  Philadel- 
phia, obtained,  in  1851,  a  prize  medal  in  the  London  Fair,  for 
the  best  bronze  chandelier.  There  are  very  beautiful  speci- 
mens of  these  articles  here  exhibited,  one  of  which  is  a  twenty- 
one-light  gilt  gas  Chandelier,  with  mermaids  of  artistic  bronze, 
surmounted  by  Parian  china,  and  opal  glass  shades.  This  is 
the  finest  thing  of  its  kind  in  the  Palace,  not  being  excelled  by 
any  in  the  Foreign  Departments.  •  Besides  this,  there  are  eight 


124 


THE  GREAT  EXHIBITION. 


light  green  bronze  Candelabras,  with  dark  lacquer — a  specimen 
of  a  pretty  Hall  Lamp,  with  cupids  and  masks — Brackets  in 
artistic  bronze  and  gold — Chimney  Girandoles — Chandelier 
Brackets,  writh  glass  of  lotus  leaf  pattern— Candelabra  and  cen- 
tre ornament  for  flowers — Solar  Lamps  in  black  bronze — Gilt 
Lamps  on  Corinthian  capitals,  with  a  peculiar  style  of  orna- 
mentation. 

The  other  display  of  strictly  American  Porcelain  is  from  the 
manufactory  of  Messrs.  Cartlidge  &  Co.,  at  Green  Point,  Wil- 
liamsburgh.  Mr.  Cartlidge  is  an  Englishman,  formerly  engaged 
in  this  manufacture  in  his  native  land,  and  first  brought  to 
this  country  on  business  growing  out  of  that  manufacture.  He 
decided  to  remain  here,  and  commence  the  manufacture  of 
Porcelain  from  the  clay — no  one  in  America,  we  believe,  being 
then  engaged  in  that  manufacture.  One  result  of  this  enter- 
prise has  been  the  discovery  in  this  country  of  the  most  valua- 
ble earths  and  other  materials  not  previously  known  to  exist 
here.  He  has  gone  on  steadily  and  prudently,  extending  and 
improving  his  works  as  he  could  afford  to  do  so ;  and  now  his 
Tea-sets,  Pitchers,  Bowls,  &c.  &c,  are  equal  in  strength  and 
beauty  of  form,  though  not  in  fineness  of  material  nor  in  neat- 
ness of  ornamentation,  to  the  best  imported.  His  Door-knobs, 
Door-plates,  &c,  are  not  surpassed  by  any  other,  no  matter 
where  fabricated. 


GLASS. 


125 


XII. 

GLASS. 

The  chief  expositions  of  Glass  are  in  the  French,  Austrian, 
and  the  United  States  departments.  Considering  the  various 
kinds  of  Glass  that  are  now  used  both  for  the  comforts  of  life 
and  the  finer  purposes  of  art,  there  cannot  be  said  to  be  either 
a  varied  or  an  extensive  exhibition.  There  is  a  much  greater 
supply  of  painted  and  ornamental  glass  than  of  the  plain  arti- 
cle, and  the  plate-glass  seems  only  to  be  shown  in  the  mirrors 
in  the  room.  We  had  expected  our  own  country  would  have 
sent  in  a  larger  collection  of  crown,  window,  and  plate  glass. 

Glass  is  an  abstract  term  for  a  composition  of  earths  which 
fuse  to  form  a  transparent  compound.  This  character  of  fusi- 
bility is  the  only  point  which  distinguishes  it  from  porcelain. 
The  latter,  composed  of  silica  and  fine  clay,  never  melts  in  the 
fire.  To  convert  those  ingredients  into  Glass,  it  is  necessary  to 
add  some  earths  or  metallic  oxydes  which  give  it  that  property. 
Such  are  potash,  soda,  lime,  oxyde  of  lead,  and  a  few  other  bo- 
dies. The  cause  of  fusion  appears  to  be  an  effect  of  any  one  of 
these  last  bodies  upon  the  original  mixture  of  clay  and  sand,  in 
dividing  the  silica  or  sand  between  the  alumina  (clay)  and  it 
self,  forming  what  are  termed  double  silicates.  Thus,  crown  or 
window-glass  would  be  a  silicate  of  soda  and  silicate  of  lime  ; 
bottle-glass,  a  mixture  of  silicates,  of  alumina,  iron,  soda,  and 
lime  ;  and  flint-glass,  a  silicate  of  potash  and  silicate  of  lead. 
Those  which  contain  alumina,  lime,  or  iron,  are  hard  glasses ; 
those  having  potash  or  lead  are  soft,  and  more  easily  fusible. 
Any  one  of  these  can  be  substituted  for  the  other  when  a  corre- 
sponding change  in  the  glass  is  desired.  The  materials,  gener- 
ally pure  and  in  powder,  well  mixed,  are  placed  in  vessels 
termed  glass-pots,  in  a  furnace  heated  up  to  a  white  heat,  where 
they  melt,  and  are  taken  out  on  the  ends  of  tube-rods  when  it 


126 


THE  GREAT  EXHIBITION. 


is  desired  that  the  articles  should  be  of  blown  glass — such  as 
decanters,  tumblers,  and  window-glass.  It  is  only  of  late  that 
window-glass  has  been  melted  in  plate,  as  it  is  termed,  or  on  a 
level  surface  ;  the  usual  mode  being  to  blow  a  sphere  upon  the 
tube,  and,  by  a  skilful  hand,  to  throw  the  two  sides  together, 
by  flattening  the  sphere  down  the  point.  Where  it  was  at- 
tached to  the  rod  of  the  workman  is  near  the  centre,  and  is 
termed  the  bull's-eye. 

Window-glass  has  been  found  in  Herculaneum,  which  must 
have  been  formed  by  being  blown.  Layard,  in  his  discoveries 
in  Nineveh,  found  a  glass  bottle  in  the  ruins  of  Konyinjink. 
This  shows  at  how  remote  a  period  the  knowledge  of  glass  and 
its  early  application  to  drinking-vessels  existed.  From  the 
Assyrians,  the  manufacture  of  Glass  passed  to  the  Phenicians, 
from  them  to  the  Crusaders,  and  thence  was  carried  to  Venice 
in  the  thirteenth  century,  where  the  processes  were  long  kept 
secret,  and  formed  a  monopoly.  In«ornamental  glass,  Venice 
excelled,  especially,  in  that  variety  termed  mille-jiore,  in  which 
a  number  of  colored  flowers  and  glass  ornaments  are  imbedded 
in  a  lump  of  transparent  white  glass.  This  ornament  has  been 
revived  lately  in  the  form  of  letter-weights,  and  beautiful  spe- 
cimens are  exhibited  in  the  French  Department.  Bohemia  and 
France  imitated  the  Venetians  with  success,  and  transplant- 
ed the  art  into  their  soil.  In  the  latter  country,  the  first  works 
were  established  near  Cherbourg,  because  in  topographical  posi- 
tion it  resembled  Murano  in  Venice.  In  1688,  Thevart  intro- 
duced the  art  of  casting  glass,  or  making  it  assume  the  form  of 
a  mold.  He  established  works  at  Paris  for  the  manufacture  of 
plate-glass.  In  England  the  first  window-glass  was  made  in 
1557  ;  but  it  was  more  than  a  century  later  wThen  drinking-ves- 
sels were  made  there.  In  1771,  the  St.  Helen's  glass-works 
were  established  at  Ravenswood,  Lancashire,  and  now  supply 
more  glass  of  its  kind  than  any  other  manufactory  in  the 
world. 

All  the  materials  for  a  manufacture  of  good  glass  exist  in 
this  country.  The  silicious  sand  is  generally  that  brought  from 
the  banks  of  the  Delaware,  In  Berkshire,  Mass.,  and  North 
ern  Vermont,  beautiful  white  sand  is  obtained  and  used,  and  the 


GLASS. 


127 


other  materials  are  as  cheaply  obtainable  here  as  elsewhere  ;  in 
some  departments  of  the  art,  considerable  progress  has  been 
made.    The  collection  of  the  New-England  Glass  Company  ex- 
hibits a  very  good  display  of  molded  glass  in  one  case  and  cut- 
glass  in  another.    The  same  company  have  a  collection  of  de- 
canters and  vases,  plain  and  colored,  and  a  series  of  glass-ware 
silvered  ;  one  of  them  is  a  centre-piece,  which  is  also  cut.  The 
mode  of  obtaining  these  silver  surfaces  is  simple.    The  glass 
vessels  are  double,  and  between  the  layers  the  silver  solution 
is  poured  in,  and  a  solution  of  grape-sugar  added.     The  latter 
reduces  the  silver  in  contact  with  it,  and  it  is  thrown  down  with 
a  bright  metallic  surface  on  the  glass.    When  the  deposit  is 
complete,  the  liquid  is  poured  out,  the  inside  cleaned,  dried, 
and  then  sealed  up  from  contact  with  the  air.    We  do  not  con- 
sider silvered  glass  a  beautiful  article  ;  instead  of  resembling  a 
silver  article,  it  more  resembles  a  mirror,  and  the  general  effect 
is  not  so  pleasing  as  if  it  were  colored  instead  of  silvered.  Be- 
side the  foregoing,  the  Boston  Company  have  an  assortment  of 
fruit-stands  in  colored  glass,  liqueur  bottles,  and  their  specimen 
of  enamelled  glass.    This  is  the  largest  glass  collection  in  the 
American  Department ;  beside  it  is  a  small  display  from  the 
Baltimore  Glass  Works,  chiefly  of  crown-glass,  being  an  assort- 
ment of  window-glass  and  druggists'  phials.    An  assortment  of 
black  bottles  is  among  the  list,  which  are  purer  and  lighter  than 
these  are  usually  blown.    We  do  not  perceive  any  exposition 
of  the  glass  manufactured  in  the  vicinity  of  New  York,  at  least 
none  direct  from  the  works  and  so  labelled.    Stouvenel  &  Co., 
Vesey-street,  have  a  very  fair  assortment  of  cut-glass,  mixed 
with  porcelain  articles.    We  have  already  alluded  to  the  ad- 
vantage which  a  display  of  a  process  of  manufacture  offers  both 
to  the  exhibitor  and  the  observer.    Could  not  glass-blowing 
and  glass-cutting  be  both  exhibited  on  the  small  scale  in  this  as 
well  as  in  the  London  Palace  %    The  glass-blower's  corner  is  al- 
ways an  amusing  and  an  instructive  spot.    We  submit  it  to 
the  exhibitors. 

Colored  and  decorated  glasses  are  well  exhibited  in  the 
French  Department.  The  collection  of  Mr.  Maez,  of  Clichy, 
near  Paris,  is  a  very  extensive  and  beautiful  one.  Beside  being 


128 


THE  GREAT  EXHIBITION. 


a  manufacturer  of  glass,  he  is  also  well  acquainted  with  the  che- 
mical department  of  his  art,  as  is  evinced  by  the  beauty  and 
novelty  of  some  of  his  productions,  for  which  he  has  received 
two  medals  from  his  own  country  and  from  England  at  the 
London  Exhibition.  The  latter  was  given  for  lenses  and  glass 
for  optical  instruments;  a  Council  medal  for  novelty  of  chemi- 
cal application,  and  a  prize  medal  for  a  prism  of  zinc  glass. 
There  are  two  flower-vases  in  the  collection  in  which  the  glass 
is  not  as  crystal  usually  is,  but  is  a  zinc  glass — oxyde  of  zinc 
replacing  the  red  oxyde  of  lead.  The' glass  is  brilliant  and  un- 
distinguishable  to  the  common  eye  from  the  lead  glass.  There 
is  a  considerable  display  of  lenses,  both  plain  and  ground  and 
of  all  sizes,  from  that  of  the  large  Daguerreotype  camera  to  the 
smaller  lenses  of  the  botanist.  Most  of  the  best  cameras  of  our 
skilful  Daguerreans  are  fitted  with  German  lenses  (Voigtland- 
ers).  Here  in  the  French  Department  is  presented  another 
source  whence  to  obtain  good  lenses. 

Not  only  is  the  ornamentation  and  coloring  of  Mr.  Maez's  col- 
lection of  great  merit,  but  in  the  design  and  form  of  the  vessels 
there  is  great  taste.  The  forms  of  the  claret-glasses  are  very 
pretty,  with  a  variety  of  flasks,  both  plain  and  gilt.  The  imi- 
tation of  Venetian  glass  and  filigree  work,  is  very  good.  The 
paper-weights,  already  alluded  to,  are  here  in  innumerable  va- 
riety. The  articles  worth  notice  are  a  celestial  blue  and  white 
vase  ;  vases  in  three  colors — maroon,  white,  and  gold  ;  a  Beauvais 
vase,  red  and  gold,  surrounded  by  a  vine  ;  flower-vases',  made  to 
imitate  lava  ;  an  eau  Sucre  service,  in  gold,  chalcedony  and  chry- 
soprase  colors.  This  last  set  is  of  great  merit,  and  shows  the  close 
imitation  of  the  natural  stones.  The  combination  of  several  colored 
glasses  in  the  one  specimen  is  a  very  beautiful  process,  which, 
with  cutting,  produces  infinitely  various  effects,  which  may  be 
studied  to  advantage  in  Maez's  collection.  The  manner  is  simple. 
The  object  being  first  formed  in  white,  transparent  and  colorless 
glass,  is  allowed  to  cool  until  solid,  and  is  dipped  for  a  moment  in 
a  pot  of  colored  glass  in  a  state  of  fusion.  It  is  then  suddenly 
withdrawn,  when  it  carries  with  it  a  thin  film  of  colored  glass, 
which  immediately  hardens  upon  it  and  is  incorporated  with  it. 
The  article  is  then  shaped  by  the  glass-maker  ;  and,  if  it  be  after- 


GLASS.  129 

ward  cut,  the  cut  parts  will  disclose  the  clear  transparent  glass, 
while  the  parts  not  cut  remain  coated  with  the  color.  The  great 
Portland  Vase,  in  the  British  Museum,  was  colored  in  this  manner, 
by  which  several  colors  may  he  laid  on  without  difficulty.  The 
metals  used  for  coloring  are  gold,  iron,  copper,  manganese,  cobalt, 
and  uranium.  The  rose  and  ruby  colors  are  due  to  oxyde  of  gold. 
Uranium  gives  the  topaz  tint,  and  it  and  copper  the  emerald 
green.  The  other  green  is  produced  by  copper  and  iron,  the  first 
giving  the  glass  a  blue,  and  the  latter  a  yellow  tint,  and  the  com- 
bination of  both  producing  green.  Mr.  Maez  has  some  pitchers 
and  vases  in  opaque  glass  of  very  great  beauty.  The  effect  of 
the  opacity  is  to  give  the  material  all  the  appearance  of  porcelain. 
Some  of  the  specimens  exhibited,  besides  being  opaque,  are  gilt 
and  painted,  producing  a  pretty  effect.  Card-tables,  toilet  articles, 
and  other  small  ware,  are  decorated  in  this  fashion.  Glass  is 
rendered  opaque  by  the  addition  of  arsenic,  and  the  opacity  is 
still  further  increased  by  the  use  of  phosphate  of  lime  (bones)  and 
oxyde  of  tin.  The  painting  on  the  enamelled  glass  of  Maez's  col- 
lection is  extremely  well  executed.  Indeed,  the  examination  of 
the  works  at  this  table  will  reward  the  time  devoted  to  it. 

On  the  lower  floor  of  the  French  department,  Mr.  La  Hoshe 
has  a  collection  of  cut-glass  claret,  Madeira,  and  other  wine  ser- 
vices, the  patterns  of  which  are  very  pretty,  and  the  form  and  finish 
of  the  glass  such  as  to  please  the  most  fastidious.  La  Hoshe  has 
some  drinking-pitchers,  ornamented  with  an  opaque  medallion  of 
the  Napoleon  on  one  side,  and  a  copy  of  the  ribbon  and  seal  of  the 
Cross  of  the  Legion  of  Honor.  This  design  is  unique  :  the  cut- 
ting of  the  glass  in  La  Hoshe's  collection  is  of  a  very  pretty  de- 
sign, peculiar  to  himself,  one  service  of  which  he  decorated  for  the 
Court  of  Russia,  and  received,  we  believe,  forty  thousand  dollars 
for  it.  Several  of  the  specimens  in  these  collections  are  of  a  lace 
pattern,  some  of  net  or  muslin,  and  a  few  present  the  appearance  ot 
stuff  goods. 

We  could  have  wished  to  have  an  exhibition  of  plate-glass, 
such  as  used  in  windows,  and  of  crown  glass  of  superior  quality. 
We  do  not  think  the  samples  of  American  production  in  the  Palace 
fairly  represent  the  condition  of  the  art  among  us ;  for,  although 
we  are  still  dependent  for  most  of  our  plate  and  superior  window- 


130  TTEE  GREAT  EXHIBITION". 

glass  upon  France  and  England,  we  yet  produce  specimens  such 
as  are  not  yet  shown  in  the  American  department.  In  the  Hol- 
land department  is  a  small  display  of  glass-shades  of  tall  dimen- 
sions, and  of  window-glass  made  in  Dort.  With  this  we  have 
gone  through  the  entire  show  of  crown-glass.  In  the  Austrian 
and  German  department  is  a  collection  of  what  is  termed  Bohe- 
mia?i  glass,  which  is,  for  the  most  part,  highly  colored,  and  ex- 
hibits some  peculiarities  of  form  not  hitherto  noticed.  For  fancy 
sets  of  table  and  side-board  glass,  for  the  wealthy  and  luxurious, 
this  display  has  merits ;  but  the  taste  and  skill  evinced  therein 
do  not,  as  a  whole,  equal  those  displayed  in  the  French  depart- 
ment ;  and  we  do  not  deem  necessary  any  further  observations  on 
this  manufacture. 


FIRE-ARMS— RIFLES  AND  REVOLVERS. 


131 


XIII. 

FIRE-ARMS  — RIFLES  AND  REVOLVERS. 

The  rivalry  of  arms  has  long  been  a  principal  theme  of  histo- 
rical record  and  national  ambition.  The  glory  of  a  nation  or  a 
race  has  consisted,  not  in  the  lives  it  has  made  happy,  and  the 
beauty,  grandeur,  or  greatness  of  its  public  institutions,  or  in  the 
extent  of  its  benevolent  enterprises,  but  in  the  power  and  inge- 
nuity with  which  the  lives  of  neighboring  nations  or  races  could 
be  sacrificed,  and  empires  destroyed.  "We  speak  of  this  kind  of 
glory  not  to  join  in  the  war-cry,  nor  to  augment  the  desire  of  con- 
quest or  annexation,  but  in  order  to  record-  a  growing  belief  in  the 
minds  of  all  thinking  men,  that  it  is  in  fact  the  sliame  rather 
than  the  glory  of  the  past,  the  great  impediment  of  true  civiliza- 
tion and  social  reformation,  rather  than  the  promoter  of  public 
order  and  advancement.  We  confess,  therefore,  that  we  have  no 
sympathy  with  the  rivalry  of  arms  as  it  regards  their  use,  and 
the  purposes  to  which  they  are  applied.  "We  believe  the  time  is 
approaching  when  rulers  must  find  a  better  game  than  war,  and 
when  the  greatness  and  power  of  any  country  can  be  more  com- 
pletely enjoyed  and  appreciated  in  the  cultivation  of  humane  and 
friendly  feelings,  rather  than  in  the  destruction  of  human- crea- 
tures. But,  as  the  world  will  probably  pass  through  many  changes 
of  character  ere  this  millennium  of  humanity  and  universal  bene- 
volence shall  be  established  as  the  practice  of  mankind  ;  as  we 
live  now  in  the  age  of  intellectual  enterprise  rather  than  of  posi- 
tive brute  force  on  the  one  hand,  or  of  high  moral  refinement  on 
the  other,  we  find  it  our  duty  to  describe  to  this  intellectual  age 
the  achievements  of  its  inventive  heroes,  its  schemers,  its  me- 
chanics, and  its  practical  men.  Rivalry  in  the  invention  or 
manufacture  of  arms,  is  of  a  different  order  to  the  rivalry  of 
which  we  have  been  speaking  ;  the  man  who  can  invent  a  rifle, 
who  can  patiently  toil  at  the  vise,  to  complete  with  his  own 


132 


THE  GREAT  EXHIBITION. 


hands  the  idea  which  has  irresistibly  forced  itself  upon  his  mind, 
is  not  the  man  who  would  delight  in  the  destruction  and  demoli- 
tion of  life  or  property  ;  no,  he  is  one  whose  mental  qualifications 
and  persevering  industry  place  him  above  dependence  upon  this 
particular  branch  of  mechanical  ingenuity.  He  could  turn  his 
hand  to  other  and  more  useful  pursuits.  Although,  therefore,  we 
avow  our  pacific  principles,  we,  at  the  same  time,  confess  our 
interest  in  the  various  schemes  for  the  improvement  of  fire-arms 
which  are  presented  in  the  Crystal  Palace.  We  have  carefully 
examined  the  merits  of  each  complete  invention,  and  we  here 
present  a  description  of  all  those  that  are  so  similar  in  their  con- 
struction and  purpose  as  to  be  considered  as  rivals.  "We  make 
use  of  this  term  on  our  own  responsibility,  each  inventor  being 
unwilling  to  acknowledge  that  there  is  anything  in  the  market 
which  can  bear  any  comparison  with  his  own. 

The  cases  in  which  the  American  Fire-arms  are  exhibited, 
are  placed  on  the  left-hand  side  of  the  north  nave,  near  the 
centre,  marked  in  the  Catalogue  Class  8,  Division  A,  Courts  1 
and  2. 

In  considering  the  relative  value  of  rifles,  the  following  are 
points  which  are  principally  involved,  and  the  piece  which  will 
bear  the  test  of  the  most  of  these  points  will  be  regarded  as  the 
most  complete : 

I.  Safety  in  firing. — It  must  be  obvious  that  this  is  the  first 
consideration,  because  if  either  a  ball,  or  a  piece  of  the  steel 
breech-pin,  or  of  the  barrel,  should  happen  to  take  a  contrary 
course  from  that  intended,  the  enemy  would  soon  exult  over 
the  suicidal  action  of  .his  foe,  or  the  day's  sport  would  come  to 
a  sudden,  and  in  some  cases  melancholy  termination. 

II.  Certainty  of  firing. — To  miss  a  fire,  according  to  the  expe- 
rience of  those  engaged  in  personal  encounters,  is  to  give  an 
enemy  an  opportunity  to  do  to  his  foe  just  what  his  foe  would 
have  done  to  him,  if  he  could.  This  point,  therefore,  is  fre- 
quently a  matter  of  life  and  death.  Or  if,  after  wandering 
about  for  miles  up  the  hill  and  down  the  vale,  the  sportsman, 
at  last,  finds  the  object  of  his  pursuit,  and  then,  when  he 
attempts  to  fire,  simply  makes  a  snap  or  a  flash,  the  partridge 
or  turkey  will  have  sense  enough  to  take  advantage  of  the  sig- 


FIRE-ARMS — RIFLES  AND  REVOLVERS. 


133 


nal,  and  the  game  is  lost,  with  some  risk,  perhaps,  of  losing  the 
good  temper  and  equanimity  of  the  sportsman. 

III.  Facility  of  loading  and  rapidity  of  firing. — These  two 
points  are  closely  connected,  because  the  latter  depends  mainly 
on  the  former,  although  not  entirely  so:  the  perfect  action  of 
the  lever  and  trigger,  and  the  condition  of  the  touch-hole,  of  the 
cap,  or  of  the  primer,  being  essential  to  rapidity,  as  well  as  to 
certainty  of  firing  ;  and  to  fire  rapidly,  with  good  aim,  is  to 
gain  great  advantage  over  an  enemy.  It  is  of  little' advantage, 
however,  to  fire  with  great  rapidity,  unless  there  is  sufficient 
time  for  taking  an  aim. 

IV.  Simplicity  of  construction. — Complex  guns,  more  than 
complex  machinery  of  any  kind,  are  most  liable  to  get  out 
of  repair. 

V.  To  keep  constantly  clean. — If  a  gun  will  become  clean 
after  every  charge,  by  its  own  operation,  without  any  especial 
cleaning,  it  is  an  important  advantage. 

VI.  To  have  facility  in  loading,  during  a  shower  or  in  unfavor- 
able weather,  without  producing  derangement  or  causing  a 
miss-fire,  and  general  cleanliness  in  loading  and  action.  The 
other  qualities  of  range  and  penetration  have  relation  more 
to  skill,  and  the  amount  of  powder  employed,  than  to  con- 
struction. 

Now,  it  is  in  relat4on  to  these  six  points  of  excellence,  that 
we  proceed  to  discuss  critically  the  relative  merits  of-  the  prin- 
cipal rifles  professing  to  be  newly  invented. 

The  first  case  which  invites  especial  attention,  is  labelled, 
"Sharp's  Patent  Rifle,"  which  was  patented  in  1850;  since 
which  time  it  is  said  eighteen  hundred  cases,  each  containing  two 
dozen  pieces,  making  forty-three  thousand  two  hundred  in  all, 
have  been  sent  from  the  manufactory.  The  peculiarity  of  con- 
struction consists  in  a  square  movable  breech-pin,  which  is  con- 
structed of  solid,  well- wrought  metal,  about  three-quarters  of  an 
inch  thick  by  an  inch  and  a  quarter  square.  On  turning  down 
the  lever  or  guard,  this  breech-pin  is  lowered,  leaving  a  breech 
of  its  own  size.  A  ball-cartridge  is  pressed  with  the  thumb 
into  its  seat.  The  breech  is  then  closed  by  pulling  back  the 
lever,  and  the  sharp  edge  of  the  breech-pin,  in  rising,  cuts  off 


134 


THE  GREAT  EXHIBITION. 


the  rear-end  of  the  cartridge,  exposing  the  powder  to  the  action 
of  the  "  Maynard's  Primer"  or  common  cap,  either  of  which 
can  be  used.  Although  the  ball-cartridge  prepared  for  this 
piece  is  best,  those  in  common  use  by  the  U.  States  Govern- 
ment, will  answer  ;  and  in  case  of  being  out  of  cartridges  alto- 
gether, as  will  sometimes  happen  in  the  far- west,  the  ordinary 
powder  flask  can  be  applied  to  the  breech  end  with  almosi 
equal  facility.  This  we  have  witnessed,  and  all  that  is  required 
to  wrork  the  gun  in  this  way,  is  care  in  not  scattering  the  grains 
of  powder  where  they  are  not  required.  But,  even  when  this 
is  done,  the  construction  is  so  simple  that  there  is  but  little 
probability  of  its  lodging  in  sufficient  quantity  to  produce  un- 
pleasant effects.  For  sporting  purposes,  therefore,  it  is  a  favor- 
ite weapon. 

Our  good  opinion  of  this  rifle  is  founded  on  a  careful  exami- 
nation of  its  construction  in  comparison  with  others,  and  wre 
find  it  will  stand  the  test  of  the  first  five  most  important  of  the 
points  of  excellence  above  enumerated.  It  is  safe  in  firing, 
because  it  contains  but  one  charge  at  a  time ;  and  the  breech- 
pin,  when  made  of  sound  metal,  is  of  great  strength,  and  suffi- 
cient to  resist  ten  times  the  force  of  the  heaviest  charge ;  and  in 
speaking  of  the  construction  or  strength  of  any  piece,  we  must 
of  course  calculate  on  the  soundness  of  the  metal  used.  The 
facility,  too,  with  which  the  condition  of  the  barrel  can  at  any 
time  be  ascertained,  by  looking  through  from  the  breech  end,  is 
an  additional  reason  why  this  rifle  is  safe  in  using.  The  cer- 
tainty of  firing  is  best  proved  by  experience,  and  a  report  of 
the  Board  of  Ordnance  Officers  states  that  it  was  "  fired  several 
hundred  times  without  cleaning,  during  which  the  movements 
of  its  machinery  were  not  obstructed."  The  facility  of  loading 
and  rapidity  of  firing  are  certainly  equal  to  all  that  can  be  truly 
said  of  other  single-barrel  guns,  not  revolvers,  while  it  pos- 
sesses the  advantage  of  greater  safety  than  can  be  claimed  for 
any  revolver.  We  have  not  seen  its  equal  for  simplicity  of 
construction.  It  is  not  professed  that  this  gun  will  do  without 
occasional  cleaning  ;  but  it  is  found  that  by  tallowing  the  ball, 
which  is  purposely  grooved,  the  barrel  can  be  kept  clean  during 
several  hundred  successive  firings.    We  have  tried  the  range 


FIRE-ARMS — RIFLES  AND  REVOLVERS.  135 

of  this  rifle  from  one  of  the  piers  into  the  river.  The  ball 
seemed  to  fall  into  the  water  at  the  distance  of  about  one  thou- 
sand yards.    The  price  of  this  rifle  is  forty  dollars. 

Marston's  Breech-loading  and  Self-cleaning  Gun  and  Car- 
tridge next  comes  under  notice.  Mr.  Marston's  invention  con- 
sists in  a  breech-bolt  or  slide  which,  by  drawing  the  lever  for- 
ward, is  brought  back  from  the  breech  end  of  the  barrel  a  suffi- 
cient distance  to  allow  space  in  the  breech  in  which  to  place  a 
ball-cartridge.  When  the  cartridge  is  placed  in  this  chamber 
through  an  opening  on  the  right  hand  side  of  the  gun,  the  lever 
is  drawn  back,  and  the  ball-cartridge  is  forced  by  the  pressure 
of  some  forty  or  fifty  pounds  into  its  seat  in  the  barrel.  The 
piece  is  now  loaded,  and,  by  placing  a  cap  on  the  nipple,  it  is 
ready  to  be  discharged.  The  fire  is  communicated  to  the  rear 
end  of  the  cartridge  by  a  small  hole  running  through  the  nip- 
ple to  the  breech-bolt  and  thence  to  the  cartridge,  which  is  per- 
forated in  the  centre,  as  will  be  presently  described.  The  most 
ingenious  part  of  the  construction  is  at  the  top  of  the  lever, 
where  there  is  a  slat  or  slide  in  the  shape  of  a  knee-joint,  in 
which  the  pin  of  the  breech-bolt  works.  When  the  lever  is 
brought  forward  in  drawing  back  the  breech-bolt,  the  top  of  the 
lever  slides  along  on  the  pin  connecting  it  with  the  bolt  the 
whole  length  of  the  slat,  and  the  lever  then  hangs  at  right  an- 
gles with  the  breech-bolt,  and  offers  no  resistance  to  the  back- 
ward motion  of  the  breech-bolt.  But  so  soon  as  the  lever  is 
drawn  back,  and  the  cartridge  driven  into  its  seat,  the  lever  and 
breech-bolt  being  at  an  angle  of  one  hundred  and  thirty-five 
degrees,  and  formed  at  their  connection  so  as  to  fit  at  that  an- 
gle, the  resistance  to  the  backward  force  produced  by  the  fire 
is  complete,  the  two  pieces  of  metal  fitting  each  other  in  a  simi- 
lar way  to  that  of  the  keystone  of  an  arch  fitting  the  stones  on 
each  side.  A  small  round  bush  enters  the  breech  end  of  the 
barrel,  and  surrounds  the  cartridge  and  breech-pin  at  their  junc- 
tion so  as  effectually  to  prevent  the  leakage  of  smoke  or  fire 
when  the  piece  is  discharged.  We  can  testify  that  this  is  effec- 
tual to  this  end,  having  seen  the  gun  fired  several  times  by 
Mr.  Marston. 

The  cartridge  deserves  special  attention.    It  is  composed  of 


136 


THE  GREAT  EXHIBITION. 


the  usual  materials  with  a  conical  ball  cemented  into  it.  The 
rear  end,  however,  has  a  leather  button  or  disc  attached  to  it,  of 
somewhat  larger  diameter  than  the  bore  of  the  barrel.  This  is 
why  a  lever  is  employed  to  force  it  into  the  barrel.  This  lea- 
ther button  is  perforated  in 'the  centre  to  receive  the  flash  from 
the  cap,  as  above  described.  The  first  fire  of  the  gun  will 
leave  this  leather  button  (which  is  previously  greased)  in  the 
large  end  of  the  barrel,  and  the  second  fire  will  force  the  button 
through  the  barrel,  thoroughly  cleaning  it  for  the  discharge 
which  immediately  succeeds.  The  result  of  this  ingenious  ar- 
rangement is  to  secure  what  we  have  classed  above  as  the  fifth 
point  of  excellence*in  a  rifle,  viz  :  "To  keep  constantly  clean." 
However,  as  the  leather  button  is  left  in,  every  time,  it  would 
seem  to  be  necessary  to  expel  it,  or  draw  it  out  by  some  other 
means  than  by  firing,  when  it  is  intended  to  lay  by  the  gun, 
otherwise  the  effect  of  the  last  shot  would  still  remain  in  the 
barrel.  A  ramrod  is  furnished  with  each  gun  for  this  purpose, 
or  for  uncharging,  or  for  loading  the  gun  at  the  muzzle  in  the 
old  way. 

The  lock  is  a  slight  improvement  upon  the  ordinary  locks  ; 
the  lever  hangs  upon  a  pin  with  an  elongated  hole,  which  al- 
lows it  to  rise  and  fall  so  as  to  avoid  the  necessity  of  another 
piece  of  metal  between  it  and  the  piece  which  works  the  tum- 
bler, simplifying  that  which  has  always  been  the  most  complex 
portion  of  fire-arms.  The  same  lock  is  applied  to  the  Marston 
patent  revolving  pistol. 

The  inventor  has  produced  a  pistol  on  the  same  principle  as 
his  rifle.  Having  visited  the  manufactory  of  Marston's  arms 
in  Jane-street,  corner  of  Washington-street,  we  may  say  that  it 
occupies  two  floors  ninety  feet  by  seventy  feet,  besides  the 
forges  in  the  sheds  below  ;  that  since  the  date  of  the  patent  in 
1850,  the  average  sale  has  been  about  forty  a  week  ;  that  one 
hundred  and  forty  men  are  employed  on  the  manufacture  of 
this  and  of  the  small  rifle  and  revolving  pistols,  producing,  in 
addition  to  the  above,  one  hundred  and  fifty  revolvers,  and 
four  hundred  rifle-pistols  a  week. 

Colt's  Revolvers  are  displayed  in  a  number  of  beautiful  spe- 
cimens, the  case  being  arranged  with  great  taste.    The  con- 


FIRE-ARMS — RIFLES  AND  REVOLVERS. 


struction  and  general  efficiency  of  these  pieces  are  so  univer- 
sally known,  that  we  need  do  no  more  than  place  this  mention 
of  them  first  among  our  notices  of  revolving  fire-arms.  Many 
new  inventions  on  the  revolving  principle  have  appeared,  some 
of  which  we  are  enabled  to  describe.  If  we  omit  any  mention 
of  others,  it  is  either  because  they  are  not  essentially  new,  or 
because  we  could  find  no  one  at  the  Crystal  Palace  to  exhibit 
them  or  afford  information  with  regard  to  their  construction. 

"  Porter's  Patent  Revolving  Fire- Arms''  come  next  in  our 
notes.  Their  peculiarity  consists  in  a  cylinder  two  and  a  half 
inches  diameter,  fitted  vertically  in  the  breech  of  the  weapon. 
The  thickness  of  this  eylinderis  about  three-quarters  of  an  inch, 
and  it  revolves  upon  a  journal  so  as  to  present  its  face  close  to 
the  end  of  the  barrel  wrhich  fits  it  nicely  and  is  thereby  closed. 
The  cylinder  is  made  of  solid  steel,  and  the  face  is  perforated 
writh  eight,  and  in  the  larger  pieces  nine  chambers,  large  enough 
to  receive  a  charge  and  ball,  each  corresponding,  as  it  revolves, 
to  the  bore  of  the  barrel,  so  as  to  present  a  charge  in  turn 
ready  to  be  fired  off.  Thus  eight  or  nine  charges  may  be  fired 
in  such  rapid  succession  as  to  produce  astonishment  in  the  mind 
of  every  spectator.  Each  chamber  has  a  touch-hole  communi- 
cating with  the  centre  of  the  charge  and  opening  on  the  right 
hand  side  of  the  cylinder,  covered  when  in  position  by  the  end 
of  the  cap,  Any  number  of  these  cylinders  can  be  loaded  and 
capped  at  a  time,  so  as  to  produce  a  succession  of  shots,  it  be- 
ing easy  to  replace  one  cylinder  with  another.  When  in  its 
place,  the  cylinder  rests  firmly  on  its  journals  against  the  ac- 
tion of  the  discharge,  and  is  also  supported  at  its  circumference 
by  the  iron  portion  of  the  breech  in  which  it  revolves.  The  cap 
is  struck  internally  by  a  nipple-shaped-  hammer,  working  hori- 
zontally. The  lock,  a  very  simple  piece  of  mechanism,  is  fixed 
at  one  end  of  the  barrel  by  a  hinge,  closing  and  clasped  upon 
the  side  of  the  cylinder  when  ready  for  use,  but  otherwise  open- 
ing and  allowing  the  cylinder  to  be  taken  out  and  charged  or 
exchanged  for  another  at  pleasure.  In  the  best  rifles,  a  cap- 
box,  accommodating  thirty  caps,  and  presenting  one  at  the 
touch-hole  of  each  chamber  as  it  comes  into  place,  is  attached  to 
the  outside  of  the  breech.    In  the  carbine,  however,  the  ordi- 


138 


THE  GREAT  EXHIBITION. 


nary  nipple  receiving  the  cap  is  connected  with  each  chamber. 
The  trigger-guard  is  also  a  lever,  turning  the  cylinder  precisely 
one  step  at  each  movement  and  cocking  the  hammer  at  the 
same  time.  Three  fingers  of  the  right  hand  pass  naturally 
through  a  loop  in  this  guard,  and,  by  a  slight  motion  down- 
ward and  back,  the  cylinder  is  turned  the  proper  distance  as 
often  as  the  hand  can  move.  This  motion  and  the  pressure  of 
the  trigger  alternately  are  all  that  is  necessary  to  discharge  the 
piece,  which  may  easily  be  done  nine  times  in  as  many  se- 
conds. 

These  guns  are  also  exhibited  at  the  shooting  gallery,  Gothic 
Hall,  316  Broadway,  where  we  have  seen  them  in  operation. 
"We  saw  an  unpractised  hand  fire  the  carbine  sixteen  times  in 
thirty  seconds,  including  the  exchange  of  barrels,  and  we  are  in- 
formed that  a  skillful  person  can  fire  off  the  gun,  in  rapid  succes- 
sion, without  moving  it  from  its  position  on  the  shoulder.    If  this 
can  be  done,  there  is  no  doubt  but  that  forty  shots  can  be  fired  ir 
one  minute,  including  the  replacing  of  four  additional  cylinders 
During  the  experiments  we  witnessed,  several  charges  missed  fire 
which  we  were  informed  arose  from  the  dampness  of  the  cylinder 
previous  to  being  loaded.    The  greatest  advantage  secured  by 
this  invention  above  all  others  is  its  rapid  action.    We  have 
seen  none  other  fired  in  so  little  time.    Its  execution  by  a  skill- 
ful shot  would  be  fearful.    In  order  to  guard  the  touch-holes 
from  ignition,  a  plate  is  fitted  so  closely  as  to  prevent  the  contact 
of  fire.    And  with  the  best  rifles  an  arch-guard  is  supplied,  which 
covers  up  the  cylinder  and  prevents  its  liability  to  accident  or 
wet.    The  cylinder,  when  loaded,  is  said  to  be  water-proof,  this 
depends  however  upon  the  accuracy  with  which  the  ball  fits  the 
chamber  in  which  it  is  rammed.    The  cylinder  can  either  be 
loaded  before  it  is  placed  in  its  position  in  the  breech,  or  it  can  be 
loaded  in  its  position.    In  the  former  case,  the  ball  would  be 
rammed  on  to  the  powder  by  means  of  a  mallet,  and  in  the 
latter  by  means  of  a  spring-hammer  fixed  on  the  barrel  of  the 
piece. 

"  Cook's  New  Revolving  Rifle,"  an  entirely  new  invention,  is 
here  presented  for  inspection,  only.  The  novelty  consists  in  a 
brass  revolving  apparatus  inside  the  wooden  stock-,  composed  >f 


FIRE-ARMS — RIFLES  AND  REVOLVERS. 


139 


five  cubes,  each  capable  of  holding  twelve  cartridges,  so  that  it 
is  intended  to  fire  sixty  shots  in  succession  in  about  two  minutes 
and  a  half. 

There  is  a  beautiful  case  of  Whitney's  Revolver  and  "Whitney's 
Rifle,  and  another  of  Allen  &  Thurber's  Revolvers,  manufactured 
at  Worcester,  Mass.,  but  as  we  find  no  one  to  explain  the  pieces 
and  to  exhibit  their  construction,  we  have  not  become  aware  that 
they  possess  any  particular  claims  to  originality. 

Gibbs's  Patent  Revolving  Rifle  and  Pistol  may  be  seen  in  the 
Agricultural  Implement  Department,  up  stairs,  class  9,  where 
Mr.  L.  H.  Gibbs  of  Washington,  D.  C,  exhibits  a  very  novel  Re- 
volving Rifle.  It  differs  essentially  from  Colt's  Revolver,  in 
having  no  centre-pin  to  the  cylinder,  which  revolves  on  two 
raised  bearers  inside  a  fixed  brass  case,  covering  two-thirds  of  the 
cylinder  above,  and  a  slide  bearing  the  weight  of  the  cylinder 
below.  This  slide  is  easily  withdrawn  when  it  is  desirable  to 
take  out  the  cylinder.  The  slide  is  so  constructed  as  to  continue 
under  the  barrel  in  the  shape  of  a  stock,  leaving  space  sufficient 
between  the  slide  and  the  barrel  to  permit  of  the  exit  of  all  the 
balls  at  once,  should  they  all  go  off,  without  danger  to  the  person, 
the  covering  above  the  cylinder  protecting  the  eyes  and  face,  and 
the  slide  below  protecting  the  hand  from  the  effects  of  such  an  acci- 
dent. The  inventor  declares  that  he-  has  fired  five  cartridges  and 
balls  at  once,  without  harm.  The  cylinder  is  revolved  in  the 
most  simple  manner  by  a  slide  similar  to  a  trigger,  working  in  a 
slat  in  the  underside  of  the  case  or  breech,  formed  by  the  brass 
slide  already  described.  This  trigger  is  worked  by  touching  it 
with  the  left  hand,  every  motion  of  which  acts  upon  the  cylinder 
within,  by  means  of  a  catch,  of  which  there  are  seven  round  the 
cylinder.  If  the  inventor  should  perfect  his  piece  according  to  the 
drawing  he  has  submitted  to  our  inspection,  in  a  similar  manner 
to  the  principle  of  his  pistol,  which  we  have  examined,  there  can 
be  no  doubt  but  his  invention  will  be  favorably  received,  as  being 
more  safe  and  simple  in  its  operation  than  any  Revolver  yet  in- 
vented. 

The  English,  French,  Russian  and  other  foreign  departments 
are  nearly  destitute  of  arms.  There  are  some  from  Belgium,  but 
nothing  new.    In  fact,  it  is  hardly  likely  that  the  old  countries 


140 


THE  GREAT  EXHIBITION. 


will  attempt  to  compete  with  the  United  States  in  what  has  so 
long  been  the  principal  instrument  of  American  warfare.  The 
rifle  of  America  has  been  notorious  for  nearly  a  hundred  years. 
And,  however  much  we  may  advocate  the  establishment  of  peace 
on  earth,  we  can  admire  the  talent  and  ingenuity  of  such  men  as 
Sharp,  Marston,  Colt  and  Porter,  and  would  encourage  in 
every  way  the  exercise  of  such  faculties,  as  when  well  directed, 
do  honor  to  our  country,  and  increase  the  wealth,  prosperity  and 
happiness  of  our  race. 


LEATHER. 


141 


XIV. 
LEATHER. 

The  visitor,  who  takes  a  general  survey  of  the  contents  of 
the  Crystal  Palace  before  proceeding  to  inspect  them  in  detail, 
as  every  person  of  sufficient  leisure  ought  to  do,  will  be  struck 
with  the  degree  of  substantiality  and  practical  utility  evinced  in 
the  American  Department,  as  a  whole,  compared  with  the  fo- 
reign departments.  Having  entered  into  the  reasons  why  this 
is  the  state  of  the  case,  in  former  articles,  we  here  simply  refer 
to  the  fact,  in  order  to  express  our  regret  that  there  should  be 
some  remarkable  exceptions  to'this  statement.  Among  these, 
there  is  one  deficiency  on  the  pa*rt  of  American  enterprise  which 
is  so  observable,  while  so  unexpected,  that  we  deem  it  our  duty 
to  call  special  attention  to  it. 

The  reader  will  anticipate  us  as  referring  to  the  exhibition  of 
American  leather,  and  we  say  emphatically  that  the  Tanners  of 
the  United  States  have  fallen  far  short  of  their  duty  in  suffering 
the  show  of  their  products  to  be  so  inexcusably  meagre  and  de- 
ficient. In  justification  of  our  complaint,  we  state  a  fact — for 
which  we  feel  sure  the  Leathermen  of  the  land  will  not  be, 
themselves,  prepared,  to  say  nothing  of  other  classes  of  readers 
—which  is,  that  only  four  of  the  thirty-one  States  of  the  Confed- 
eracy are  represented  in  this  department  of  the  Fair.  Were 
the  exhibition  one  for  the  benefit  of  a  single  State,  or  of  even  a 
single  nation,  such  a  circumstance  would  not  be  excusable,  and 
it  is  still  less  so  here.  Then,  again,  it  would  not  be  so  bad 
were  this  mere  trio  of  States  represented  severally,  or  even  col- 
lectively, to  an*extent  at  all  commensurate  with  the  extent  and 
spirit  of  their  participation  in  this  immense  and  important 
branch  of  industry. 

The  art  of  Tanning  is,  doubtless,  a  very  ancient  one,  though 


142 


THE  GREAT  EXHIBITION. 


the  date  of  its  origin  is  not  known.  In  the  popular  acceptation 
of  the  phrase,  it  includes  two  quite  distinct,  though  relative, 
branches  of  manufacture — that  of  the  "  currying  "  as  well  as  the 
tanning  process  proper.  The  last  named  is  merely  a  chemical 
process,  although  it  requires  more  or  less  of  manipulation  in 
order  to  facilitate  the  chemical  action  on  which  reliance  is  pri- 
marily placed.  The  former  is  a  mechanical  process  alone.  The 
modus  operandi  of  tanning  is,  simply  the  bringing  of  the  veget- 
able principle  of  Tannin,  or  tan,  into  contact  with  the  animal 
principle  of  Gelatine,  whereupon  a  chemical  change  takes  place, 
in  obedience  to  the  laws  of  affinity,  resulting  in  a  hardening  and 
thickening  of  the  skin  subjected  to  the  process.  The  infusion 
of  the  Tannin  in  the  cellular  coating  and  inner  substance  of  the 
hide,  is  the  mechanical  part  of  the  operation,  which  necessarily 
precedes  the  chemical.  Gelatine  abounds,  in  greater  or  less  de- 
gree, in  the  skins  of  all  animals,  as  also  in  their  limbs,  from 
wThich  the  culinary  article  of  jelly  is  commonly  extracted  by  a 
process  quite  familiar  to  all  our  lady  readers.  .  It  is  also  resi- 
dent in  the  other  parts  of  animal  bodies,  including  the  horns  and 
hoofs,  which,  as  our  readers  are  aware,  largely  supply  the  article 
of  commerce  known  as  glue. 

Tannin  is  a  principle  found  more  or  less  in  the  barks  of  all 
trees,  but  the  Oak  is  mainly  that  from  which  it  is  derived  in 
this  country.  We  say  mainly,  because  there  are  portions  of  the 
cguntry  where  this  class  of  trees  is  so  scarce  as  to  render 
necessary  a  substitution  of  the  bark  of  other  trees.  For  instance, 
in  New  Hampshire,  and  other  of  the  more  northern  tier  of 
States,  Hemlock  bark  is  used  by  Tanners  almost  exclusively, 
many  employing  Oak  bark  very  rarely,  if  at  all,  and  then  only 
to  give  a  desired  color  to  the  leather  after  the  actual  process  of 
tanning  is  considered  complete.  It  is  the  universal  abundance 
of  Oak,  and  particularly  the  White  Oak  and  the  Chestnut  Oak, 
in  Virginia,  Maryland,  Pennsylvania  and  the  other  Middle 
States  through  which  the  spurs  of  the  great  Alleghany  Moun- 
tains are  extended,  that  has  facilitated  and  rendered  so  largely 
profitable  the  business  of  manufacturing  various  kinds  of  leather, 
and  especially  sole  leather  and  the  heavier  upper  leather.  In 
those  States  the  traveller  will  be  struck  with  the  number  of  tan- 


LEATHER. 


143 


yards  which  reveal  themselves  here  and  there  in  ravines  along 
the  high-ways  and  by-ways.  They  are  almost  as  plentiful  as 
the  old-fashioned  water-propelled  grist  mills,  or  the  country 
taverns ;  and  it  is  these  that  turn  out  the  immense  quantities 
of  leather  which  find  their  principal  depots  at  Baltimore  and 
Philadelphia.  The  leather,  and  particularly  the  sole  leather, 
manufactured  among  the  oak-clad  hills  to  which  we  have  made 
allusion — those  of  the  more  western  portions  of  the  middle  tier 
of  States — may  be  generally  known  from  Northern  leather  by 
its  peculiar  hue.  This  fact  is,  probably,  what  has  induced  the 
use  of  Oak  Tannin,  in  other  regions,  for  finishing  purposes, 
amounting  to  a  species  of  imitation. 

It  may  be  here  stated  incidentally,  that  the  Quercitron  Oak 
(Quercus  tinctoria)  has  become  a  source  of  extensive  profit  in 
that  portion  of  the  Union  referred  to,  where  it  is  ground  and 
packed  in  casks  for  foreign  exportation.  It  commands  very 
high  prices  in  Europe,  and  may  be  found  regularly  quoted  in 
commercial  reports.  It  is  exported,  however,  mainly  for  dye- 
ing purposes,  as  the  botanical  name  it  bears  indicates,  for  which 
it  is  indebted  to  Dr.  Edward  Bancroft.  It  may  also  be  stated 
that  Catechu  far  excels  all  other  vegetable  products  in  the 
amount  of  Tannin  it  yields.  This  has  been  clearly  demonstrated 
by  careful  experiments  instituted  by  Sir  Humphrey  Davy  and 
others,  whose  analyses,  by  the  way,  have  done  justice  to  our 
native  oaks.  But  CatecJm.  is,  of  course,  entirely  out  of  the 
question  for  ordinary  tanning  operations,  owing  to  the  great 
price  it  commands  as  a  medical  drug.  Our  Sumac  also,  stands 
very  high  in  the  chemical  scale,  but  owing  to  its  scarcity  it  is 
too  dear  for  employment  on  the  coarser  and  more  largely  used 
kinds  of  leather,  and  hence  it  is  mostly  employed  in  the  man- 
ufacture of  the  finer  sorts  of  morocco. 

We  now  proceed  to  catalogue,  sufficiently  for  comparison 
and  remark,  the  specimens  of  American  leather  so  far  on  exhi- 
bition. Alfred  Crawford,  of  "  Shawangunk  Tannery,"  has  a  lot 
of  well-tanned  and  firm  leather  for  boots  and  shoes.  Edward 
A.  Smith,  of  this  City,  exhibits  a  case  of  Moroccos  of  various 
colors  and  thicknesses,  designed  for  boot-tops  and  book-bindings* 
They  look  well  through  the  glass-case — particularly  the  speci- 


1U 


THE  GREAT  EXHIBITION. 


mens  of  Turkey  Morocco.  The  same  remark  will  apply  to  a 
case  of  more  varieties  from  Cook  and  Mann,  of  this  City.  In 
this  case  we  noticed  every  conceivable  color  of  skivers,  and 
some  fine  laid  sheep-skins ;  also  some  superior  American 
sheep-skins.  There  is  a  package  of  English  colored  calf  and 
Russet  calf  (for  law-books)  among  the  collection  of  this  firm. 
The  American  sheep-skins  are  not  only  a  superior  article  of 
their  class,  but  are  remarkable  for  being  the  only  thoroughly 
domestic  product  in  the  whole  lot.  They  were  manufactured  in 
Massachusetts,  and  it  may  not  be  generally  known  that  but  a 
small  proportion  of  the  sheep-skins  manufactured  hereabouts 
for  book-binders'  use,  are  from  the  backs  of  American  sheep. 
The  reason  assigned  for  this  is,  that  they  are  too  thin  to  split  to 
advantage.  The  greater  part  of  the  book-morocco,  even  the 
Turki  h  morocco,  is  made  from  sheep-skins  derived  from  the 
English  markets.  It  gratifies  us  to  be  able  to  state  that  our 
country  is  fast  being  absolved  from  her  dependence  on  foreign 
manufacturers  for  its  supply  of  morocco.  The  raw  kid-skins, 
which  are  very  rare  in  this  country — goats  being  nowhere  raised 
for  the  sake  of  the  skin — are  imported  very  largely,  and  manu- 
factured by  American  hands  and  improved  machinery.  There 
are  several  extensive  manufactories  in  this  City,  whose  moroccos 
will  compare  favorably  with  the  best  of  their  class  produced 
elsewhere. 

•  Though  the  tanners  of  this  state  make  such  a  beggarly  show 
in  the  Exhibition,  it  is  not  because  they  are  beggarly  themselves, 
if  the  statistics  of  their  business  are  an  indication.  The  number 
of  tanneries  in  the  state  is  about  two  thousand  five  hundred  ;  the 
number  of  men  employed,  ten  thousand ;  the  amount  of  money 
invested,  $10,000,000.  The  product  of  these,  in  sides  of  sole 
and  upper  leather,  may  be  put  down  at  $3,000,000  a  year,  at 
the  lowest  estimate.  It  is  true  that  there  are  very  few  tanneries  in 
the  city  ;  but  it  must  be  remembered  that  this  city  is  the  great 
depot  of  most  of  this  New  York  leather,  and  also  of  a  large  pro- 
portion of  the  products  of  the  tanneries  of  the  "West,  and  even  of 
portions  of  the  East. 

New  Jersey,  though  making  a  show  far  beneath  her  real  abili- 
ties, has  done  better  than  New  York.    J.  Chadwick  &  Co.,  of 


LEATHER. 


145 


Newark,  have  fumislied  decidedly  the  greatest  curiosity  in  the 
leather  line,  which  attracts  much  attention.  It  is  a  single  ox- 
hide, which  contains  one  hundred  square  feet  of  leather  ;  and 
good  leather,  too,  it  is  justly  considered.  This  firm  have  a  large 
show-case,  well  filled  with  specimens  of  patent  and  enamelled 
leather  of  almost  all  conceivable  colors.  These  are  highly  cred- 
itable to  the  state  and  the  country.  The  extensive  Carriage  and 
Harness-Factories  of  the  prosperous  city  of  Newark  alone  require 
a  large  quantity  of  this  species  of  leather,  not  taking  exports  into 
account,  nor  the  wants  of  the  other  manufactories  of  vehicles, 
within  the  states,  which  are  numerous  and  extensive. 

Pennsylvania  is  still  better  represented  than  New  Jersey, 
though  falling  far  short  of  a  correct  idea  of  her  immense  produc- 
tion, the  capital  of  which,  footed  up  in  1840,  at  $4,255,055,  by 
which,  at  that  date,  five  thousand  two  hundred  and  twenty-six 
operatives  were  employed.  H.  M.  Crawford,  of  Philadelphia, 
exhibits  some  samples  of  sole  and  uppers,  the  former  of  which  is 
firm  and  durable.  H.  Brodt,  of  the  same  city,  has  a  package  of 
shoe-uppers,  one  article  of  which  particularly  deserves  notice,  as 
the  result  of  an  attempted  imitation  of  the  plain  French  calf- 
skin style.  In  this  we  consider  him  to  have  only  partially  suc- 
ceeded. His  own  style  presents  a  much  more  encouraging  pros- 
pect of  success,  as  the  samples  thereof  clearly  indicate.  The 
reason  of  this  we  shall  explain  when  we  come  to  speak  of  the 
French  and  German  Departments,  which  represent  the  only- 
foreign  nations  whose  Tanners  and  Curriers  have  deemed  the 
Exhibition  worthy  of  their  attention.  George  S.  Adler,  of  Phila- 
delphia, shows  a  case  of  black  morocco,  which  presents  a  credit- 
able appearance  through  the  glass  doors.  There  are  two  other 
specimens  of  Pennsylvania  leather,  which  are  deserving  of  more 
special  notice.  One  of  these  comes  from  the  "  Union  Tannery" 
of  Jacob  Hoffman,  of  Juniata  county,  a  fine  grazing  region,  well 
adapted  to  the  tanning  business.  It  consists  of  sole-leather  alone, 
and  is  decidedly  of  a  superior  sort.  Its  firmness  and  color  indi- 
cate not  only  great  care,  but  the  taking  of  time.  The  latter  is  a 
great  desideratum  too  seldom  regarded  by  manufacturers  of  the 
present  "  fast "  era,  when  the  old  slow  but  sure  method  seems  to 
receive  very  little  favor  in  any  department  of  industrial  enter- 

7 


146 


THE  GREAT  EXHIBITION. 


prise.  But  the  most  noticeable  sample  of  sole-leather  is  exhibited 
by  James  Clever,  of  Tannersville,  Perm.,  under  the  designation 
of  "  American  Oak-tanned  Butt,  for  Belting  or  Soles."  This  is 
fully  a  third  of  an  inch  thick,  and  weighs  forty-seven  pounds.  It 
is  about  as  hard  as  a  board,  and  of  a  darker  hue  than  its  neigh- 
bor, just  noticed.  It  has  evidently  been  subjected  to  a  very  slow 
process,  after  the  old-fashioned  mode,  and  it  has  not  unlikely  been 
four  or  five  years  in  the  yard.  This  may  seem  an  altogether  un- 
warrantable inference,  in  view  of  the  rapid,  machinery-forced 
processes  now  coming  in  vogue.  But  it  is,  nevertheless,  probable. 
Not  only  are  several  years  consumed  on  ox-hides,  in  many  sections 
of  this  country,  but  the  same  is  the  case  in  England,  whence  the 
idea  of  its  necessity  was  originally  imported  by  the  progenitors  of 
the  present  race  of  rural  tanners,  who,  in  the  language  of  one  of 
their  class,  tan  "just  as  fathers  did  fifty  years  ago."  And,  in 
fact,  there  is  great  reluctance,  on  the  part  of  many  of  the  most 
proficient  tanners  and  capable  judges  of  leather,  including  not  a 
few  of  our  best  boot  and  shoemakers,  to  trust  these  recent  time- 
shortening  inventions.  They  regard  such  statements  as  the 
butchering  of  a  kid,  dressing  the  meat,  and  then  tanning  the 
hide,  all  in  the  self-same  hour,  as  purely  fabulous  ;  and  yet  an 
intelligent  German  tanner,  now  in  this  city,  actually  performed 
this  feat,  while  residing  in  Paris,  where  the  question  of  how  long 
it  requires  to  tan  perfectly  has  become  one  of  days,  instead  of 
months,  and  even  years,  as  of  yore.  There  only  remain  to  be 
noticed,  among  domestic  articles,  some  very  fine  and  beautifully 
colored  buckskins,  for  gloves,  &c,  from  the  manufactory  of  Ram- 
berry  &  Ebert,  of  Georgetown,  D.  C.  These  are  highly  credit- 
able to  this  firm — particularly  a  specimen  of  "  Daguerreotype 
Leather,"  which  presents  a  remarkably  fine-grained  and  smooth 
surface. 

Here  are  also  specimens  manufactured  at  the  tannery  of  Gideon 
Bantz,  Jr.,  of  Frederick  city,  Md.  They  were  prepared  expressly 
to  test  the  availability  of  a  new  process  of  tanning  without  the 
use  of  bark,  of  which  their  exhibitor  (David  Kennedy,  of  Reading, 
Pa.)  is  the  inventor  and  patentee.  In  the  lot  are  all  the  usual 
sorts,  from  heavy  sole  and  harness  to  the  light  and  flexible  calf- 
skin and  the  porous  sheep.    Some  of  the  specimens  of  sheep-skins 


LEATHER. 


147 


are  finished  so  as  to  resemble  calf-skins,  and  answer  many  of  the 
purposes  of  that  sort  of  leather.  They  certainly  appear  imper- 
vious enough  for  summer  wear.  There  is  also  a  hair-dressed 
deer-skin  worthy  of  notice.  It  is  smoothly  finished  on  the  flesh- 
side  and  blackened,  leaving  all  the  non-conducting  qualities  of 
the  hide  unaffected.  For  winter  wear,  in  severe  climates,  it 
would  be  decidedly  comfortable. 

The  calf-skins  of  this  collection  are  remarkably  firm  and  elastic, 
considering  the  rapidity  of  their  preparation.  They  are  said  to 
have  been  tanned  in  from  six  to  seven  days.  This  celerity  is 
the  more  noticeable  from  the  fact  that  no  machinery,  beyond 
that  usual  in  tanneries,  has  been  employed.  And  here,  it  may 
be  well  to  state,  that  seventy-one  days  were  found  sufficient,  with 
this  process,  as  we  are  assured,  to  turn  out  as  firm  and  durable 
samples  of  sole  as  are  usually  met  with. 

Neither  the  manufacturer  of  these  samples,  nor  the  patentee 
of  this  process,  has  given  us  any  insight  into  the  particular  styptic 
used,  or  the  source  of  its  supply.  Bark  is  used  to  no  greater  ex- 
tent than  one-fourth  the  usual  quantity,  and  not  at  all  in  tanning 
the  lighter  sorts  of  skins.  As  a  matter  of  interest,  we  subjoin 
the  inventor's  own  statement  of  the  advantages  of  his  process 
over  the  old  method.  He  assures  us  that  to  "  tan  one  dozen  com- 
mon size  calf-skins,  will  cost  from  seventy-five  cents  to  one  dollar, 
and  all  other  kinds  of  hides  in  proportion.  It  requires  less  room 
or  space  to  carry  on  the  business.  The  tanning  can  be  perfected 
in  one-fourth  of  the  usual  time.  Sheep,  goat,  deer,  and  calf- 
skins, or  any  similar  skins,  can  be  tanned  in  from  three  to  ten 
days ;  kip,  upper,  harness,  skirting,  and  heavy  sole-leather,  in 
from  twenty  to  eighty  days.  The  process  can  be  learned  by  any 
tanner  in  a  very  short  time.  It  gives  the  leather  more  strength 
and  durability,  greater  softness  and  pliability,  more  weight,  and 
fills  it  up  better,  produces  a  finer  texture,  and,  consequently, 
finishes  much  fmep>  and  renders  it  much  more  impervious  to 
water  than  leather  tanned  by  the  old  method.  Sheep  and  goat- 
skins, tanned  in  this  way,  possess  the  strength  of  calf-skins,  and, 
in  shoes  and  boots,  will  retain  their  shape  equal  to  that  of  calf- 
skin. Deer-skins  make  a  splendid  article  for  gloves ;  calf-skins 
possess  double  the  strength  of  those  tanned  by  the  old  method. 


148 


THE  GREAT  EXHIBITION. 


The  apparatus,  and  different  stages  of  the  process,  are  the  same 
as,  or  analogous  to,  the  usual  method."  Mr.  Kennedy's  patent  was 
taken  out  in  1852. 

James  R.  Smith,  of  this  city,  has  done  his  part  toward  redeem- 
ing the  credit  of  our  leathermen,  whose  neglect  of  the  Exhibition 
we  remarked  upon  in  our  first  article,  by  furnishing  a  case  of 
buff  and  colored  kid  and  sheep-skins,  which  are  creditable  for 
finish  and  coloring.  They  are  of  the  sorts  used  by  book-binders, 
hatters,  &c.  L.  &  T.  Grrosholz,  of  Philadelphia,  exhibit  a  lot  of 
plain  calf-skins,  designed  as  imitations  of  the  French  style  of 
dressing ;  also  a  lot  of  sheep-skins.  Jacobus  &  Utter,  of  New- 
ark, N.  J.,  have  a  couple  of  sides  of  light  sole.  They  are  smooth- 
grained  and  very  fair  and  clean — the  most  so  of  any  of  their 
class  in  the  building. 

Having  disposed  of  the  specimens  of  Leather  in  the  Ameri 
can  Department  of  the  Palace,  we  now  come  to  the  Foreign. 
France  has  sent  a  great  profusion  of  specimens,  particularly  in 
the  classes  of  Patent  and  Enamelled  upper  leather,  and  particu- 
larly in  plain  and  enamelled  calf-skins.  In  both  these  classes  of 
boot  materials,  the  French  are,  unquestionably,  greatly  in  ad- 
vance of  the  American  tanners  and  curriers.  Their  plain- 
dressed  calf-skins  have  always  been  in  deserved  repute,  owing 
to  their  delightful  pliability  and  softness,  which  are  attained, 
together  with  durability  as  well  as  smoothness  of  grain.  The 
secret  of  this  excellence,  unquestionably,  lies  chiefly  in  the  cheap 
rates  of  wages  prevalent  in  France.  After  the  tanning  pro- 
cesses proper  are  completed,  the  currying  opens  a  field  where 
patient  manipulation  can  effect  what  once  would  have  been  con- 
sidered wonders  in  the  way  of  finishing.  For  example  :  it  is 
said  that  the  French  curriers,  after  putting  the  tanned  hides 
through  the  several  usual  processes,  whereby  every  particle  of 
lime  and  other  residuary  matter  would  be  considered  extracted, 
and  the  necessary  degree  of  pliability  attained,  are  in  the  habit 
of  subjecting  the  leather  to  a  milling  or  pounding  process, 
which  would  be  considered  utterly  destructive  to  the  very  sub- 
stance of  it  by  the  old-fashioned  members  of  the  craft.  Thus 
they  not  only  give  to  their  plain  calf-skins  the  peculiar  softness 
and  pliability  already  noticed,  but  prepare  the  surface  for  the 


LEATHER. 


149 


addition  of  the  enamelling  process.  Contrary  to  all  this,  the 
American  attempts  at  enamelling,  or  japanning,  are  too  fre- 
quently made  upon  leather  utterly  unfitted  for  its  reception, 
because  of  the  roughness  and  porousness  of  the  surface.  This, 
and  the  failure  to  temper  the  heat  of  the  composition,  are, 
doubtless,  among  the  chief  points  of  failure  in  this  country. 
The  foregoing  remarks  will  apply  with  equal  force  to  the  Ger- 
man processes,  and  their  results  in  this  line  of  practical  art. 
There  is  little- difference  in  the  leather  produced  on  the  two 
sides  of  the  Rhine.  In  fact,  a  large  proportion  of  the  French 
leathers  is  manufactured  by  Germans  in  Paris  and  other 
places  in  France.  However,  the  French  have  secured  the  start 
in  reputation,  which  is  a  great  thing  in  a  commercial  point  of 
view. 

The  following  French  manufacturers  are  represented  by  spe- 
cimens of  their  skill,  viz :  Placide  Peltereau,  Jr.,  who-  has  on 
exhibition  well-arranged  specimens  of  Black  Harness  Leather, 
numbered  and  classified  as  follows :  Vache  Lissee,  1  (smooth 
cowskins) ;  Vache  Lissee,  2  ;  Bceuf,  3  (ox-hide) ;  Vache,  4 
(cowskin) ;  Cuir  Juse,  5  (juicy  leather)  ;  Vache  Lissee,  6.  These 
are  very  compact  and  thick  samples.  We  have  translated  the 
indications  of  quality  literally,  as  a  matter  of  curiosity.  The 
difference  from  the  classification  adopted  by  tanners  and  dealers 
in  this  country  will  be  seen  at  a  glance.  For  instance,  we  have 
no  distinction  between  the  hides  of  the  male  and  female  ani- 
mals, when  manufactured  into  the  kind  of  leather  for  which  they 
are  best  suited.  By  the  term  ox-hides  we  indicate  all  skins  of 
full-grown  cattle,  while  the  phrase  "  cow-skin"  would  be  taken 
to  represent  untanned  or  raw  hides.  Bayvet,  Brothers  &  Co., 
Paris,  have  a  large  lot  of  buff  and  colored  Buckskins.  Every 
variety  of  tint  is  presented,  among  the  rest  a  most  perfect 
bronze.  In  this  respect  the  excellence  of  French  workmanship 
is  shown,  as  in  all  fabrics  where  color  is  involved.  A.  Houette 
&  Co.,  of  the  same  city,  exhibit  a  fine  collection  of  patent  and 
enamelled  and  plain  calf-skins,  and  morocco.  Nys  &  Co.,  have 
a  collection  pretty  much  the  same  as  that  last  described,  in  va- 
riety and  quality.  A  very  superior  lot  of  plain  calf-skins  is 
shown  by  Manson  and  Nantes.    There  is  a  case  of  skins  de- 


150 


THE  GREAT  EXHIBITION". 


signed  for  ladies'  winter  gloves,  shown  by  T.  Textier,  Jr.,  of 
Paris,  which  for  pliability  and  smoothness,  as  well  as  gloss  and 
shading,  we  think  it  would  scarcely  be  possible  to  excel.  A. 
Petet  Didier  has  sent  a  package  of  sole  and  upper  leather, 
which  presents  very  creditable  varieties.  Beside  this,  he  has 
an  unusually  pliable  and  tough  article  of  harness-leather,  which 
seems  to  have  been  perfectly  saturated  with  oil.  It  was  pro- 
duced by  "  Gerare,"  as  nearly  as  we  could  decipher  the  pale  and 
illegible  chirography  of  the  manufacturer.  In  the  sole-leather 
line  there  are  some  pieces,  designed  for  single  shoe-soles,  which 
give  promise  of  rarest  durability  and  imperviousness.  We 
have  never  seen  so  much  substance  in  so  little  bulk  of  leather. 
The  name  of  the  maker,  with  which  we  found  the  same  difficulty 
as  with  the  above,  we  read  "  Degrux  Laceur."  E.  Courtois, 
Paris,  has  some  fine  samples  of  varnished  calf-skins.  J.  Gau- 
tier,  also  of  Paris,  has  on  exhibition  a  collection  of  the  best 
quality  of  moroccos  and  patent  leathers.  Of  the  same  classifi- 
cations there  are  fine  samples  from  the  factories  of  L.  Deade  ; 
while  Soucin  Corbet  and  Chaney  &  Bouchet  exhibit  cases  of 
plain  black  calf  of  the  highest  finish,  and  Tailbouis  a  superior 
lot  of  glove-skins.  These  are  all  Parisian  fabrics.  To  these 
French  deposits  we  have  only  one  addition  to  make,  which  calls 
for  special  remark.  We  allude  to  the  large  collection  of 
Charles  Knoderer,  of  Strasbourg.  Among  his  advertisements 
we  find  the  following  card : 

"  Patent  Tanned  Leather  :  New  process  of  tanning  leather, 
almost  instantaneous  and  superior  to  any  known  hitherto.  It 
gives,  in  thirty  to  forty  times  less  time,  a  product  of  much  finer 
color,  softer,  heavier,  and  more  water-proof." 

As  this  vaunting  piece  of  bad  English  bears  the  signature  of 
"  A.  Barbey,  Agent,"  we  will  not  hold  the  manufacturer  ac- 
countable for  it,  nor  for  the  French- Yankeeism  of  this  puffing 
card.  But  it  should  be  added,  that  "  three  days  in  summer," 
and  four  in  winter,  are  declared  to  have  been  sufficient  for  the 
manufacture  of  various  specimens  of  upper  leather,  which,  we 
must  do  this  new  process  the  justice  to  say,  presents  all  the 
external  marks  of  good  stock  and  good  leather,  "  whether  tan- 
ned in  three  da#s  or  three  years,"  to  quote  the  frank  remark 


LEATHER.  151 

of  an  old-fashioned  tanner  who  stood  by  us,  as  we  were  exam- 
ining them.  The  machinery-aided  process  by  which  these  won- 
ders have  been  accomplished,  has  been  known  and  used  in  this 
country  for  some  years.  Its  principle  in  bringing  the  skins 
into  rapidly  repeated  contact  with  the  tanning  liquor  by  means 
of  a  revolving  cylinder,  which  catches  up  and  dashes  them  down 
alternately.  The  hint  was,  doubtless,  derived  from  a  fact  well 
known  among  practical  tanners,  that  the  more  frequently  hides 
are  "  handled,"  as  taking  them  out  of  the  vat,  and  replacing 
them  in  fresh  and  gradually  stronger  bark,  is  called,  the  better 
the  leather  will  be.  Frequent  exposure  to  the  atmosphere  is 
supposed  to  have  more  or  less  to  do  with  the  result  aimed  at, 
which  is  the  introduction  of  the  tannin  as  repletely  as  possible 
among  the  fibres  of  the  skin.  The  great  length  of  time,  during 
which  the  hides  were  subjected  to  the  action  of  the  liquor,  un- 
der the  older  and  slower  process,  which  is  still  followed  in  this 
and  other  States,  finally  accomplishes,  with  the  aid  of  the  tan- 
ner's hands,  what  is  done  by  the  machine.  And  while  the  old- 
fashioned  plain  way  may  suit  the  rustic  tanner,  whose  opera- 
tions are  but  limited,  the  heavy  and  progressive  capitalist  will 
naturally  give  his  preference  to  this  "almost  instantaneous  and 
superior"  process ;  and  it  is  already  largely  employed  in  this 
country. 

The  German  Department  is  not  near  so  full  as  the  French, 
but  highly  creditable  as  to  quality.  Among  the  German  exhi- 
bitors are  Cornelius  Weyl,  of  Worms,  who  shows  patent 
leather,  and  Heintz  and  Frendenberg,  of  Weinheim,  who  show 
enamelled,  both  remarkable  for  softness  and  for  fineness  of  grain- 
ing. Doerr  &  Reinhart,  of  Worms,  have  much  the  largest  and 
most  varied  collection.  It  consists  of  patent  and  japanned  up- 
per and  calfs,  and  also  kid,  deer,  and  sheep  skins.  The  latter 
are  very  noticeable  for  their  extreme  thickness,  and  velvet-like 
softness. 

In  the  English  Department  some  samples  of  Leather  have  now 
been  placed.  One  of  the  lots  has  not  been  labelled  yet.  J.  S. 
Dead,  of  London,  exhibits  a  case  of  kid  and  sheep  skins  for 
bookbinders'  use.  They  are  of  all  the  usual  colors,  and  look  well. 
Revington  &  Morris,  of  the  same  city,  have  a  case  of  Uppers  and 


152 


THE  GREAT  EXHIBITION. 


Sheep-skins — the  latter  of  various  colors.  Their  sheep-skins  are 
the  thickest  in  the  building,  perhaps,  excepting  some  in  the  Ger- 
man Department.  The  same  remark  will  apply  to  some  of  their 
Kid  skins.  Bayley  &  Shaw,  of  Nottingham,  have  contributed 
much  the  largest  English  collection. 

These  also  are  in  a  glass  case,  where  a  bad  light  does  great 
injustice  to  them.  Among  their  various  sorts  we  find  a  specimen 
of  embossed  leather.  Its  raised  figure-work  gives  it  much  the 
appearance  of  damask.  We  should  think,  it  capable  of  a  greatly 
varied  application  to  the  manufacture  of  carriages  and  furniture. 

From  France  there  are  some  recent  additions  of  plain  calf- 
skins and  other  uppers,  presenting  those  qualities  which  have 
given  reputation  to  the  French  manufacturers  of  this  sort  of 
leather.  They  are  deposited  by  Delon  Alboy  and  F.  Gaudelet. 
From  Germany  there  are  also  some  additions  to  the  specimens 
before  remarked  upon.  Rupp  &  Bechstein,  of  Frankfort,  exhibit 
specimens  of  enamelled  calf-skins,  which  are  very  fine  in  texture 
and  finish.    The  graining  is  well  nigh  perfect. 

"We  come  now  to  Austria.  J.  J.  Pollak  &  Sons,  of  Prague, 
have  a  very  large  variety  of  leathers,  including  almost  every  con- 
ceivable kind  and  quality,  some  of  which  are  decidedly  novel. 
Their  wagon  harness  leather  is  very  heavy  and  durable,  but 
rough  and  uninviting  in  color.  Their  patent  or  lackered  leather, 
as  they  called  it,  is  very  thick,  firm  and  smooth.  An  article  of 
this  sort  designed  for  cap-fronts,  and  therefore  black  on  one  side, 
while  of  some  other  color  on  the  opposite  side,  presents  these 
qualities  in  great  perfection.  Some  of  their  uppers  are  curious  in 
the  graining,  giving  a  species  of  minute  diamond- work.  But  the 
most  remarkable  of  these  Austrian  specimens  is  a  plain  calf-skin 
dressed  as  morocco.  While  having  the  granular  appearance  of 
the  latter,  it  is  far  more  durable.  Indeed,  it  is  the  most  pliable 
article  of  boot-leather  in  the  Palace,  the  best  French  not  ex- 
cepted. A  pair  of  boots  from  it  would  be  a  luxury.  The  Messrs. 
Pollak  are  the  patentees  of  a  steam  process  of  currying — a  recent 
invention,  as  they  claim.  They  state  that  with  its  aid,  they  can 
turn  out  calf  or  sheep-skins  within  two  or  three  days,  and  the 
hides  of  oxen,  cows  or  horses,  within  four  or  five  days  from  the 
lime  pit. 


LEATHER. 


153 


In  the  same  department,  F.  Wolff  exhibits  some  specimens  of 
goat  and  sheep-skins  of  a  decidedly  novel  style.  They  are 
printed  in  figures  and  flowers,  so  as  to  resemble  the  usual  pattern 
of  oil-cloth  used  for  table-cloths  and  furniture  covers,  and  would 
probably  be  found  well  adapted  for  car  or  carriage  linings. 

These  results  of  practical  industry  are  calculated  to  give  a 
rather  agreeable  disappointment  to  the  visitor  who  has  not  kept 
himself  tolerably  well  posted  as  to  the  present  developments 
within  the  vast  dominions  of  Austria.  There  is  a  special  reason 
for  the  success  in  the  Tanning  Art  evinced  by  the  specimens  just 
noticed.  The  Imperial  Royal  Army  affords  an  immense  amount 
of  patronage,  by  which  competition  is  stimulated  and  rewarded. 
But,  besides  this  factitious  stimulus,  the  supply  of  native  hides  is 
very  great  in  that  country.  It  includes  all  the  varieties  of  Eng- 
land and  the  United  States,  with  many  others  of  great  value. 
The  grazing  advantages  of  a  large  portion  of  the  country  are  im- 
mense, while  every  species  of  tree  from  which  the  principle  of 
tannin  is  derivable,  is  at  hand  in  the  forests.  The  oak  is  plenti- 
ful, even  at  as  great  altitudes  as  2,800  feet  above  the  level  of  the 
sea.  But  although  tan-bark  is  thus  rendered  accessible  and 
cheap,  it  would  seem  that  it  is  not  much  used  in  portions  of  the 
Empire,  especially  in  Hungary.  The  process  of  tanning  in  this 
country  is  so  different  from  that  employed  in  the  United  States, 
that  we  add  a  brief  description  of  it.  It  consists  in  impregnating 
the  stronger  hides  with  a  mixture  of  alum,  common  salt,  and 
suet.  Two  months  are  required  for  the  process.  The  tanning  ap- 
paratus employed  consists  chiefly  of  a  furnace  with  an  iron 
boiler  for  dissolving  the  alum,  a  vat  for  immersing  the  hides  in 
the  solution,  and  a  copper  boiler  in  a  chamber,  made  close  so  as 
to  retain  a  great  degree  of  heat.  In  this  chamber,  although 
generally  as  small  as  five  by  six  feet,  there  are  usually,  beside 
the  copper  boiler,  which  is  capable  of  containing  from  one  hun- 
dred and  fifty  to  two  hundred  gallons,  the  following  conveniences  : 
A  stove,  in  the  middle  of  which  is  a  stone  slab,  upon  which 
stands  an  iron  grate  about  a  yard  square.  It  is  covered  with 
charcoal.  At  each  side  of  the  stove  are  large  tables,  running  the 
length  of  the  chamber.  On  these  the  leather  is  spread  to  receive 
the  grease.    Overhead  are  poles  on  which  the  leather  is  hung 

7* 


154  THE  GREAT  EXHIBITION. 

while  heat  is  being  applied.  The  other  parts  of  the  operations 
are  similar  to  those  used  elsewhere.  The  skins  are  washed  in 
some  river,  on  the  bank  of  which  the  establishment  is  reared,  next 
shaved,  and  then  steeped  for  twenty-four  hours  in  water.  They 
are  next  cleansed  with  five  or  six  pounds  of  alum  to  each  side,  and 
three  or  four  pounds  of  salt,  supposing  the  hide  to  weigh  not  more 
than  seventy  or  eighty  pounds.  The  salt  softens  the  effect  of  the 
alum,  while  it  attracts  moisture  from  the  atmosphere,  and  assists 
to  preserve  the  desired  suppleness  of  the  leather.  When  the 
alum  and  salt  are  perfectly  dissolved,  they  are  poured  upon  the 
hides.  These,  being  placed  in  the  vat,  are  tramped  upon  by 
walking  backward  and  forward.  They  are  next  transferred  to  a 
vat  containing  hot  water  alone,  where  they  are  again  tramped. 

Then  they  are  steeped  for  eight  days  in  the  alum  solution.  All 
of  this  round  of  preparations  is  subsequently  repeated,  after  which 
the  skins  are  dried  in  the  open  air,  or  at  a  stove,  but  stretched  at  in- 
tervals to  prevent  them  from  wrinkling.  Having  been  piled  away, 
until  they  are  considered  dry,  they  are  trampled  for  the  third  time. 
This  is  to  open  the  pores  and  render  the  leather  pliable.  Bleaching 
in  the  sun  is  resorted  to  with  the  view  of  whitening  them.  But 
there  is  another  novel  step  in  the  process,  which  must  not  be 
overlooked.  It  is  the  stretching  of  the  skin  over  the  burning  char 
coal,  for  about  a  minute,  with  the  flesh  side  toward  the  fire. 
Having  been  thus  "  flamed,"  they  are  exposed  to  the  radiation 
of  the  heat  on  inclined  planes,  while  covered  carefully  with  cloths. 
They  are  finally  hung  up,  in  order  that  the  grease  may  dry  in 
and  harden.  Instead  of  alum,  sulphuric  acid  is  used  sometimes 
— of  course,  in  a  diluted  state.  This  would  seem  to  indicate  that 
the  sulphuric  acid  of  the  alum  is  the  principle  relied  on,  in  the 
other  plan,  to  effect  a  chemical  interchange  with  the  chloric  acid 
of  the  salt. 

Among  foreign  samples  of  leather,  are  those  from  our  neigh- 
bors of  the  British  American  Provinces.  Oliver  T.  Macklin, 
of  Chippewa,  [C.  W.]  has  deposited  several  sides  of  superior 
sole,  the  weight  of  which  runs  from  twenty-six  to  thirty -five 
pounds.  It  is  hemlock- tanned,  and  therefore  darker-colored 
than  much  of  the  leather  manufactured  in  the  States.  The 
hemlock  bark  affords  a  cheaper  astringent  than  the  oak,  and 


LEATHER. 


155 


hence  the  hides  tanned  with  it  are  used  extensively  at  Lynn, 
and  other  shoe-man ufacturing  localities  where  cheapness  is  a 
leading  object.  It  gives  the  mahogany  hue  to  soles  of  the 
"  Yankee  shoes,"  as  they  are  styled  in  the  Southern  markets. 
The  Canadian  sole  leather  differs  generally  from  ours  in  one 
important  particular.  Its  flesh  side  is  generally  left  unshaved, 
and  is  merely  rolled.  The  weight  is  thereby  increased,  but 
there  is  no  actual  gain,  one  would  think,  in  sales  to  discrimina- 
ting buyers.  And  yet  to  the  manufacturer  of  Brogans  there  is 
the  advantage  of  enabling  him  to  give  the  appearance  of  great- 
er thickness  and  substantiality  to  the  soles,  without  the  reality. 

W.  A.  Clark,  of  Toronto,  has  on  exhibition  some  good  spe- 
cimens of  Roans,  or  Cape  Sheep-skins,  in  which  the  beautiful 
tint  imparted  by  the  cochineal  dye  is  displayed  to  advantage. 
The  Sheep-skin  Moroccos,  colored  with  cochineal,  are  much 
more  costly  than  any  other  Roans.  They  are  worth  in  this 
market,  from  eight  dollars  to  ten  dollars  per  dozen,  which  is 
from  one  dollar  to  one  dollar  and  fifty  cents  higher  than  even 
Imitation  Russia.  Mr.  Clark  exhibits  also,  a  very  soft  and 
white  Lamb-skin.  There  is  a  specimen  of  Buckskin  in  this  de- 
partment, tanned  after  the  Indian  process.  It  looks  very  rough, 
when  compared  with  the  finer  specimens  around  it,  giving  no 
indications  of  trouble  in  shaving  off  the  fleshy  roughness  usually 
supposed  to  require  the  aid  of  the  currier's  knife  or  roller  ;  but 
it  has  evidently  retained  all  the  native  strength  and  flexibility 
of  the  skin. 

But  the  most  remarkable  sample  in  the  Canadian  Depart- 
ment, and  we  might  perhaps  add,  in  the  whole  Exhibition,  is 
that  of  leather  manufactured  from  the  skin  of  the  porpoise. 
Though  aware  of  the  general  qualities  of  this  animal,  we  were 
not  prepared  to  see  its  skin  turned  to  such  an  account  as  this. 
The  texture  is  more  porous  than  that  of  ordinary  uppers,  but  it 
gives  evidence  of  having  all  the  other  requisites  of  shoe-lea- 
ther. In  pleasantness  of  pressure  it  would  be  quite  equal  to 
buckskin  for  dry  weather,  while  it  would  probably  be  more 
durable.  This  curiosity — for  such  it  is — was  tanned  by  C.  H. 
Tetu.  He  calls  his  novel  article  "  Patent  Porpoise  Leather." 
It  took  a  premium  in  the  London  Exhibition. 


156 


THE  GREAT  EXHIBITION. 


XV. 

SADDLES,  HARNESS  AND  TRUNKS. 

Under  this  head  we  propose  to  do  justice  to  most  of  those 
heavier  articles  on  exhibition,  which  are  manufactured  chiefly 
from  leather.  First  of  Saddles.  The  Saddle's  origin  is  not 
known.  It  probably  never  had  any  distinct  origin,  but  has 
been  a  gradual  growth  from  the  suggestions  of  necessity,  begin- 
ning with  a  mere  piece  of  some  untanned  skin,  and  progressing 
to  the  beautifully  finished  and  comfort-assuring  modern  saddle. 
The  saddle  was  not  known  among  the  Greeks,  a  sort  of  cloth,  or 
housing,  being  all  they  used.  By  this  latter  name  a  portion  of 
riding  apparatus  is  known  to  the  present  day.  The  same  was 
also  used  by  the  Persians.  We  have  good  inferential  evidence 
that  Saddles,  in  anything  approaching  the  modern  arrangement 
of  stirrups,  were  totally  unknown  to  the  Ancient  Romans  in  the 
description  by  the  great  physician  of  their  time,  Galen,  of  cer- 
tain diseases  caused  among  their  cavalry  by  the  pendency  of 
their  legs  on  horseback.  The  first  mention  of  saddles  is  that 
we  have  in  connection  with  the  history  of  Constantine.  Con- 
stantius,  a  brother  of  the  first  Christian  Emperor,  got  up  a  plot 
to  deprive  him  of  his  scepter.  In  the  course  of  its  attempted 
execution,  he  is  represented  as  having  made  his  way  into  the 
midst  of  the  squadron  where  Constantine  was,  mounted  on  a 
saddle,  from  which  he  suddenly  threw  himself.  Before  that 
time,  square  panels  were  in  use  by  horsemen,  as  may  be  seen 
represented  in  ancient  statues,  such  as  that  of  Antoninus,  which 
still  graces  the  Roman  capitol.  In  the  Theodosian  code,  there 
is  a  curious  prescription  of  the  legal  weight  of  a  saddle  and 
bridle  ;  they  were  to  weigh  not  more  than  GOlbs !  A  law  of 
the  reign  of  Henry  VII.  shows  that  in  more  modern  times  at- 
tempts were  made  to  regulate  the  use  of  saddles.  The  nobiJity 
were  compelled  to  use  them.    The  cost  which  they  were  made 


SADDLES,  HARNESS,  AND  TRUNKS. 


157 


to  incur  must  have  been  annoying  even  to  their  class,  judging 
by  the  circumstance  of  Richard  II.  having  bartered  no  less  than 
four  hundred  cows  for  the  saddle  which  he  used  in  his  expedition 
to  Ireland  for  the  purpose  of  chastising  MacMorrogh  for  his 
assumption  of  the  title  of  king — at  least  so  runneth  the  history 
of  the  time.  The  earliest  charter  of  a  saddle-manufactory, 
of  which  we  have  any  account,  was  granted  in  1272,  though  one 
is  said  to  have  been  in  existence  in  England  as  early  as  1190. 

Great  improvements  have  been  made  in  saddles  wTithin  fifty 
years,  as  a  comparison  of  the  specimens  in  the  Exhibition  with 
the  relics  of  a  former  day  will  show.  In  this  respect  the  Eng- 
lish are  behind  the  American  saddles,  although  the  manufacture 
receives  great  encouragement  from  the  nobility  and  gentry, 
owing  to  their  racing  and  fox-hunting  habits.  The  same  mate- 
rial (hog-skin)  is  used,  for  the  best  saddles,  in  both  countries, 
on  account  of  its  softness,  and  capacity  for  exposure  to  the  sun 
and  rain.  In  this  country,  buckskin  is  frequently  used,  for  the 
seat  and  the  horns  of  ladies'  saddles  particularly.  Among  the 
samples  of  foreign  saddles  we  find  none  but  the  plainest  hog- 
skin — that  is,  no  attempts  at  fine  quilting,  and  other  ornaments 
so  common  in  this  country.  These  come  from  the  manufacto- 
ries of  Great  Britain  and  Ireland,  which  are  the  only  foreign 
countries  represented  in  this  line,  except  Germany.  From  the 
latter,  there  are  some  bridles  of  a  very  pretty  and  peculiar  pat- 
tern, whose  maker  has  not  thought  it  worth  while  to  attach  his 
name.  From  London,  Robert  Blyth  has  sent  two  men's  sad- 
dles and  one  lady's,  and  also  a  racing  saddle.  The  latter  is 
smaller  and  lighter  than  the  others.  The  seats  are  all  flatter 
than  those  of  corresponding  American  articles,  while  the  skirts 
of  the  side-saddles  are  narrower  and  shorter — a  fault  from  which 
the  soiled  skirt  of  the  fair  rider  would  soon  suffer.  William 
Lennan,  of  Dublin,  exhibits  one  man's  saddle  and  one  hunting- 
saddle.  The  weight  of  the  latter  is  put  down  at  1 0  lbs.,  and  the 
selling  price  at  £5.  This  is  certainly  a  well-made  and  neat 
article,  but  the  price  indicates  that  the  user  is  expected  to  pay 
for  his  fancy.  An  equally  good  saddle  could  be  furnished  for 
$15  in  New- York.  Its  light  weight  is  certainly  a  recommenda- 
tion, especially  for  hunting  purposes,  and  contrasts  curiously 


158 


THE  GREAT  EXHIBITION 


enough  with  the  GO  lbs.  legal  rule  cited  above.  But  the  price, 
high  as  it  may  now  seem,  falls  a  good  way  short  of  the  worth 
of  four  hundred  cows,  at  any  valuation  conceivable. 

All  the  saddles  in  the  American  Department  are  of  military 
patterns,  as  though  fighting  were  really  the  chief  employment 
of  our  horsemen.  Thornton  Grimsley,  of  St.  Louis,  has  a  case 
of  dragoon  equipments  that  are  very  showy,  and  no  doubt  well 
adapted  to  the  "pomp  and  circumstance  of  glorious  war."  The 
embroidery  is  of  wide  gilded  lace,  and  the  quilting  is  very  neat. 
The  bridles  appear  much  lighter  than  usual,  which  is  a  most 
merciful  improvement.  There  is,  in  this  case,  what  might  be 
called  an  unpadded  "  tree,"  which  is  said  to  be  much  in  use 
among  the  Mexicans,  and  which  was  adopted  by  Generals  Scott 
and  Taylor  during  their  Mexican  campaigns.  Presenting  no 
check  to  evaporation,  while  leaving  the  spinal  column  of  the 
horse  entirely  untouched,  it  is  also  a  humane  Invention.  A 
still  more  ornamental  saddle  is  shown  by  Thompson  &  May,  of 
Bridgeport,  Conn.,  for  whom  it  was  manufactured,  as  their  card 
informs  us,  by  Benjamin  Stevens.  It  presents  the  peculiarity 
of  having  no  cloth  upon  it. 

Before  passing  to  the  harnesses,  we  must  mention  an  improve- 
ment in  bridle-reins,  of  which  W.  A.  Holwell,  the  Canadian 
Commissioner,  is  the  patentee.  It  is  designed  for  either  riding 
or  driving.  He  calls  it  the  "  Duplex  Safety  Rein."  Ordinarily 
there  are  two  reins  to  every  bridle,  one  of  which  connects  with 
a  curb,  and  the  other  with  a  snaffle.  This  improvement  pro- 
poses to  dispense  with  one  of  these  altogether.  A  single  leather 
rein  is  attached  to  the  curb-bit.  A  short ,  elastic  connecting- 
piece,  or  false  rein,  is  ^attached  at  one  end  to  the  main  rein, 
and  at  the  other  to  the  ring  of  the  snaffle-bit.  With  this  ar- 
rangement, so  long  as  the  horse  moves  gently,  the  driver  or 
rider  bears  upon  the  connecting-piece  only,  and  through  it  upon 
the  snaffle-bit.  If  the  horse  is  restive  or  hard-mouthed,  his  re- 
sistance stretches  the  connecting-piece  until  the  pressure  is 
thrown  upon  the  main  rein,  and  through  it  upon  the  curb  or 
stiff-bit,  thus  bringing  its  lever  power  into  play.  The  moment 
the  animal  becomes  tractable  again,  the  elastic  piece  contracts 
and  transfers  the  natural  pressure  of  the  horse's  mouth  to  the 


SADDLES,  HARNESS,  AND  TRUNKS. 


159 


snaffle-bit,  the  lever-bit  becoming  instantly  relaxed.  The  mate- 
rial used  by  Mr.  HolwelL  for  his  model,  is  a  gum-elastic  tube 
with  a  metallic  hook  at  one  end,  to  attach  it  to  the  snaffle  or 
cheek-ring,  and  a  little  button  at  the  other,  for  whose  reception 
holes  are  punched  along  the  main  rein.  The  advantages  pro- 
posed by  this  promising  though  simple  invention,  are  a  more 
natural,  self-relying  movement  on  the  part  of  the  horse,  and 
greater  sense  of  security  to  the  rider  or  driver.  For  women, 
or  inexperienced  or  feeble  persons,  it  promises  an  exemption 
from  the  common  risk  of  getting  hold  of  the  wrong  rein,  amid 
fright  and  confusion.  Women  are  often  thrown  from  their 
horses  in  this  very  way,  when  using  double-reined  bridles. 

The  term  Harness  anciently  indicated  the  complete  armor  of  a 
cavalier,  including  his  casque  and  his  cuirass.  In  our  more  modern 
sense,  it  signifies  the  trappings  or  furmture  of  the  horse,  or  of  a 
team  of  horses,  or  other  animals  used  for  draught  of  any  sort. 
We  have  derived  the  word  from  harnaes,  (Welch,)  though  the 
original  is  supposed  by  some  philologists  to  have  been  a  Greek 
root,  arnakis,  a  lamb-skin,  because  the  Greeks  covered  them- 
selves with  lamb-skins  as  a  part  of  their  protective  armor.  The 
near  resemblance  of  the  equivalents  in  various  ancient  and  mo- 
dern languages  is  so  remarkable  as  to  be  worth  citing  here,  as 
a  philological  curiosity,  while  at  the  same  time  indicating  uni- 
versal use.  While  the  orthography  runs  as  we  have  seen  in  the 
Greek,  the  Welch,  and  the  English,  in  the  German  it  is  harnisch, 
in  the  Spanish  arnes,  in  the  Danish  harnisk,  in  the  Italian  arnese, 
in  the  Armenian  harnes,  and  in  the  Swedish  harnesk.  The  first 
portion  of  our  horse-harness  used  was  probably  the  traces,  in 
the  shape  of  pieces  of  cord  or  rawT  hide.  On  the  Eastern  Shore 
of  Maryland,  where  the  draught  is  easy,  owing  to  the  level 
quality  of  the  ground,  and  where  the  horses  are  poor  and  feeble, 
may  be  seen,  at  this  day,  these  rope  traces,  with  rude  wooden 
names,  and  a  straw  collar;  whereas,  among  the  ancients,  a 
piece  of  cord  was,  most  likely,  thrown  around  the  back  to  keep 
the  traces  from  flying  about  and  becoming  entangled,  while 
their  front  attachment  was  to  the  head  of  the  halter-shaped 
bridle,  such  as  is  still  used  by  some  nomad  tribes. 

We  have  already  mentioned  that  saddles  were  dignified  by 


ICO 


THE  GREAT  EXHIBITION. 


various  legislative  enactments  regulating  their  use  among  the 
English  of  former  eras.  In  the  reign  of  Richard  II.,  the  use  of 
harness  was  also  regulated  by  law,  the  persons  being  designated 
who  might  lawfully  use  them,  and  the  time  when,  prescribed. 

There  are  on  exhibition  only  two  lots  of  carriage-harness,  or 
indeed  of  any  sort  of  harness,  we  may  say,  with  the  exception  of 
some  collars  sent  in  by  John  B.  Seidenstricker  &  Co.,  of  Balti- 
more, to  show  the  utility  of  Taylor's  patent  spring-hames — an 
article,  by  the  way,  well  worthy  of  attention.  The  first  of  these 
which  we  shall  notice,  is  from  the  manufactory  of  Lacey  &  Phil- 
lips, of  Philadelphia.  They  exhibit  a  case  containing  two  sets  of 
russet  or  brown  single-harness,  and  one  set  of  black  ;  also  three 
sets  of  double.  The  leather  is  very  smooth  and  strong,  and  the 
stitching  well  done.  The  embroidery  is  of  the  neatest  quill- work  ; 
and  the  mountings  are  of  plated  silver,  with  turrets  set  in  gilt — 
all  very  heavy.  The  other  lot,  which  is  also  arranged  in  a  large 
show-case,  is  from  Newark,  N.  J.,  from  whose  extensixe  Harness 
Factories  a  representation  was  to  have  been  anticipated,  if  from 
anywhere.  It  bears  the  name  of  Owen  McFarland,  one  of  those 
remarkable  architects  of  their  own  fortune  who  abound  among 
the  industrialists  of  the  country.  He  presents  both  double  and 
single  carriage-harness.  The  body  is  of  plain  leather,  while  the 
collars  and  blinds  are  of  patent  leather.  The  mountings  of  these 
are  also  partly  golden  and  heavy,  and  the  embroidery,  which  is 
beautiful  quill-work,  is  well  done.  It  will  give  the  discerning 
some  trouble  to  determine  the  comparative  merits  of  these  two 
lots.  We  shall  dismiss  them  with  a  word  of  thanks  for  the  care 
which  both  manufacturers  have  given  to  the  reins — always  a 
paramount  matter  in  harness.  These  reins  are  apparently  very 
secure,  though  of  the  round  style,  and  very  delicate-looking.  We 
should  take  them  in  hand  with  a  sense  of  reliance,  behind  the 
wildest  horse,  so  far  as  their  important  office  is  concerned — which 
would  be  far  from  the  case  with  a  large  proportion  of  the  reins 
in  the  market,  made  as  they  are  with  but  little  regard,  seem- 
ingly, to  the  quality  or  adaptation  of  the  leather,  or  the  safety  of 
life  or  limb  in  their  use. 

Limited  as  is  the  display  of  the  articles  already  named  in  this 
notice,  the  reader  will  hardly  be  prepared  to  learn  that  but  a 


SADDLES,  HARNESS,  AND  TRUNKS. 


161 


single  travelling-trunk  is  to  be  found  in  the  entire  American  De- 
partment. In  a  travelling  age,  such  as  this,  we  had  a  right  to 
expect  pretty  fair  samples  from  other  countries  ;  but  how  it  hap- 
pened that  so  immense  a  branch  of  business  as  the  manufacture 
of  trunks  in  this  country  should  be  represented  by  a  single  sam- 
ple, and  that  exhibited  merely  for  the  sake  of  the  secondary 
quality  of  its  needle- work  ornaments,  we  are  at  a  loss  to  conceive. 
And  this  sample  comes  from  St.  Louis,  a  far-off  "Western  city, 
where  the  want  of  manufacturing  enterprise  is  a  theme  of  loud 
complaint  among  her  journalists.  The  article  referred  to  was 
manufactured  by  S.  F.  Summers,  of  that  city.  It  is  a  fair  leather 
trunk,  with  heavy  plated  silver  bands  and  mountings,  which  give 
it  a  strong  exterior.  It  is  locked  so  as  to  prevent  inspection  of  its 
internal  arrangements.  But,  as  we  have  already  hinted,  it  has 
evidently  been  sent  in  to  show  what  the  needle  can  do  in  the 
ornamental  line.  The  wife  of  Mr.  Summers  is  credited  with  this  < 
feature  of  its  finish,  by  which  she  has  won  herself  deserved  praise. 
The  value  of  this  trunk  is  estimated  at  three  hundred  dollars, 
wilich,  perhaps,  may  do  for  St.  Louis,  where  everybody  is  rich. 
In  the  Italian  Department,  there  is  a  single  trunk,  but  it  is  re- 
markable for  nothing  except  being  made  of  patent  leather,  and 
having  glaring  brass  bands  and  white  stitching.  Imagine  such  a 
trunk  in  one  of  our  American  baggage-cars,  or  at  a  railway  sta- 
tion, amid  piles  of  luggage,  when  the  passengers  are  called  on  to 
"  come  forward  and  point  out  their  baggage."  We  should  expect 
to  see  the  unhappy  owner  emerging  from  the  melee  a  sadder  and 
a  wiser  man,  with  his  trunk  banged  to  pieces,  and  not  a  trace  of 
its  pristine  splendor  remaining  on  the  relics. 


162 


THE  GREAT  EXHIBITION 


XVI. 

ARTIFICIAL  FLOWERS'. 

Of  all  the  arts  that  are  devoted  to  the  mimicry  of  nature, 
there  is  none,  perhaps,  that  approaches  nearer  to  it  in  fidelity 
than  that  which  counterfeits  the  perishahle  beauties  of  the  Floral 
Kingdom.  To  such  a  degree  of  perfection  have  the  imitative 
powers  of  man  brought  its  productions,  that  could  we  but  impart 
to  them  the  delicious  perfumes  exhaled  from  the  original,  we 
should  feel  almost  as  exquisite  a  sense  of  enjoyment  from  the  con- 
templation of  their  charms.  We  might  then  replace  the  withered 
rose  which  from  time  immemorial  has  been  the  emblem  of 
"  blighted  hopes"  and  "  crushed  affections,"  by  ever-blooming 
wax  and  muslin  substitutes,  whose  freshness  would  not  require  to 
be  kept  alive  by  the  artificial  stimulants  of  our  tears,  and  the 
tiresome  applications  of  the  watering-pot.  Thus  we  might  revel 
in  the  odor  of  souvenirs,  and  rejoice  like  Mark  Tapley  in  the  per- 
petual greenness  of  our  sorrows.  Why,  amongst  the  numerous 
discoveries  that  are  daily  enriching  the  arts,  this  has  not  been 
already  accomplished,  it  would  be  difficult  to  say.  Since  Genin 
has  made  an  epic  of  his  hats,  and  Phalon  an  eclogue  of  his  hair- 
dye,  it  has  become  so  much  the  fashion  with  our  tradesmen  to  in- 
fuse a  dash  of  sentiment  into  the  calculations  of  the  counting- 
house,  that  we  can  see  no  reason  why  the  poetry  of  artificial 
floriculture  should  not  seek  its  apotheosis  in  the  full-toned  fra- 
grance of  its  bouquets. 

When  we  consider,  however,  the  influence  for  good  or  evil 
which  a  coquettishly-disposed  bunch  of  artificial  flowers  has  had 
on  the  destiny  of  some  of  us — when  we  reflect  upon  the  seductive 
spells  which  lie  lurking  within  its  petals,  and  upon  the  cunning 
basilisks  that  are  disporting  within  the  dark  ambush  of  its  leaves 

 when  we  think,  too,  of  the  drain  which  the  supply  of  these 

costly  vanities  (yielded  in  the  abandonment  of  our  weak  moments 


ARTIFICIAL  FLOWERS. 


163 


to  the  salutations  of  some  bright-eyed  petitioner)  entails  upon  our 
purse,  we  are  disposed  to  take  rather  a  more  serious  and  philoso- 
phical view  of  the  subject.  We  have  been  so  cruelly  deceived  in 
the  dawn  of  our  first  illusions  by  the  apparent  simplicity  which 
this  floral  embellishment  would  seem  to  denote,  that  in  the  ripe- 
ness of  our  mature  experience  we  have  ceased  to  have  any  faith 
in  it.  When  we  now  see  a  beautiful  girl  overladen  with  the 
treasures  of  the  Vegetable  Kingdom,  like  another  Ceres,  we  can- 
not help  deploring  the  taste  which  refuses  to  Nature  the  free  dis- 
play of  her  most  precious  gifts,  and  to  Man  the  opportunity  of 
forming  an  unembarrassed  judgment.  The  melancholy  picture, 
but  too  often  seen,  of  tottering  senility  struggling  to  conceal  the 
ravages  of  time  under  the  freshness  and  bloom  of  the  rose,  only 
serves  to  awaken  our  pity,  and  to  remind  us  at  times  of  those  gar- 
landed skeletons  which  the  Egyptians  were  in  the  habit  of  seating 
at  their  feasts. 

As,  however,  the  taste  for  this  species  of  ornament  is  rapidly 
spreading  among  our  feminine  population,  and  as  it  bids  fair  to 
become  an  important  branch  of  our  commerce,  we  are  bound  to 
give  to  it  that  impartial  consideration  which  our  growing  manu- 
factures demand.  We  shall  therefore  now  proceed  to  give  a  brief 
account  of  the  early  history  of  the  art  and  of  the  progress  which  it 
has  made  within  the  last  few  years  in  the  United  States. 

The  art  of  imitating  vegetable  productions  in  a  variety  of  ma- 
terials, seems  to  have  been  practised  among  the  earliest  and 
rudest  nations.  The  savages  of  South  America  are  said,  for  in- 
stance, to  excel  in  the  manufacture  of  flowers  made  from  the 
brilliant  plumage  of  their  own  birds,  and  which  bear  a  close  re- 
semblance to  the  originals  from  which  they  are  copied.  The 
Italians  seem  to  have  been  the  first  European  nation  who  attained 
any  degree  of  excellence  in  the  art,  but  they  were  soon  surpassed 
by  the  French,  who  have  ever  since  maintained  their  pre-emi- 
nence. Some  idea  of  the  importance  of  this  branch  of  industry  in 
France  may  be  formed  from  the  fact  that  her  annual  exports  in 
this  article  alone  amount  to  11,000,000  of  francs.  The  manu- 
factures thai;  she  produces  are  the  finest  in  the  world,  being  un- 
equalled for  the  purity  and  brilliancy  of  their  tints,  their  delicacy 
and  exquisite  finish,  and  the  fidelity  with  which  they  adhere  to 


164 


THE  GREAT  EXHIBITION. 


nature.  Some  of  the  flowers  contributed  from  Paris  to  the  Lon- 
don Exhibition  were  perfect  marvels  of  ingenuity  and  skill,  and 
the  cases  that  contained  them  were  continually  besieged  by  ad- 
miring crowds.  Among  the  productions  which  excited  the  most 
interest  on  that  occasion  were  specimens  of  some  rare  exotics,  ex- 
hibited by  Madame  Emma  FurstenhofT,  a  Swedish  lady,  who  to 
the  nicest  observation  of  nature  unites  artistic  talent  of  the  highest 
order.  High  as  was  Constantin's  previous  reputation,  and  great 
as  was  the  display  which  he  made  of  the  resources  of  his  atelier, 
it  was  universally  conceded  that  his  lady  rival  bore  away  the 
palm.  The  houses  in  Paris  which  take  the  lead  in  the  finest 
descriptions  of  goods  are  those  of  Constantin,  FurstenhofT,  Sophie 
Perrot,  Haraud,  Huot,  and  Bortin.  Of  these,  we  only  see  the 
name  of  the  latter  in  the  list  of  contributors  to  our  exhibition. 
M.  H.  E.  Royer,  of  the  Rue  de  Caire,  exhibits  several  cases  of 
artificial  leaves  and  branches,  some  of  which  are  beautifully  exe- 
cuted, but  which  nevertheless  present  but  little  variety.  In  the 
American  Department  we  observe  one  case,  that  of  Madame 
Civatte,  which  are  very  beautiful,  but  which  we  suspect  were  not 
manufactured  here,  but  in  Paris.  This  suspicion  is  repelled  by 
Mad.  C,  who  insists  that  they  were  made  by  her  in  this  city. 
Assuming  this  to  be  the  fact,  we  feel  bound  to  point  out  the  mani- 
fest injustice  done  to  our  native  manufacturers  by  having  their 
goods  placed  in  competition  with  foreign  flowers,  executed  by 
some  of  the  oldest  makers  in  the  French  capital. 

The  commencement  of  our  home  manufacture  does  not  date 
further  back  than  about  thirty  years.  The  house  of  Christopher 
&  Co.  was,  we  believe,  the  first  that  engaged  in  it ;  but  the  pro- 
gress made  was  slow,  owing  to  the  difficulty  of  procuring  compe- 
tent hands  and  proper  materials.  It  may  be  necessary  here  to 
observe,  that  in  Paris  the  preparation  of  the  materials  used  in 
the  manufacture  forms  several  distinct  branches  of  trade,  and 
that  the  quality  of  the  flowers  depends,  in  a  great  manner,  on 
the  care  used  in  the  getting  up  of  these  materials.  The  New 
York  manufacturers  were  reduced  to  the  alternative  of  either  pre- 
paring them  themselves  or  of  importing  them  from-  France,  and 
for  many  years  they  were  obliged  to  pursue  the  latter  course.  It 
was  formerly,  also,  the  custom  of  the  manufacturer  to  import 


ARTIFICIAL  FLOWERS. 


1G5 


foreign  flowers  for  the  purpose  of  intermixing  them  with,  and 
completing  their  own  assortments.  It  is  only  within  the  last 
three  years,  in  fact,  that  some  few  of  them  have  commenced  to 
make  the  complete  flower,  and  to  dispense  with  the  aid  of  foreign 
accessories.  Owing  to  the  rapid  increase  of  the  manufacture  in 
New  York,  and  the  formation  of  a  large  body  of  skilled  hands, 
there  is  now  no  obstacle  in  the  way  of  attaining  its  full  develop- 
ment. Could  the  prejudices  be  got  over  that  exist  in  favor  of 
French  goods,  our  manufacturers  would,  in  the  course  of  a  few 
years,  compete  successfully  with  the  Paris  makers.  As  an  illus- 
tration of  the  rapid  progress  which  has  been  made  in  the  finer 
branches  of  the  manufacture,  we  may  mention  that  in  two  speci- 
mens of  the  same  flower  submitted  to  us  for  inspection  a  few  days 
since,  the  one  made  in  Paris  and  other  in  New  York,  it  was  im- 
possible for  us  to  distinguish  any  difference.  We  were  informed 
that  even  more  skillful  judges  than  ourselves  were  frequently  de- 
ceived by  the  exactness  with  which  the  Paris  patterns  are  copied, 
so  that  we  may  fairly  assume  that  our  flower-makers  have  ac- 
quired the  taste  and  experience  necessary  to  the  successful  prose- 
cution of  the  manufacture. 

There  are  now  a  great  many  flower-manufacturers  in  New 
York — we  believe  from  sixty  to  seventy.  In  Philadelphia  there 
are  about  a  dozen,  and  in  Boston  only  half  that  number.  In  the 
other  leading  towns  throughout  the  states,  there  is  not  more 
than  about  one  to  each,  the  difficulty  of  procuring  skilled  hands 
operating  as  an  effectual  barrier  to  the  extension  of  the  trade. 
The  consequence  is  that  the  home  consumption  is  chiefly  supplied 
by  New  York,  the  greater  facilities  of  manufacture  and  importa- 
tion which  it  possesses,  giving  it  a  natural  pre-eminence. 

The  flower-trade  gives  constant  employment  throughout  the 
year  to  a  large  number  of  women  and  children,  the  services  of 
men  being  only  required  in  the  rougher  branches  of  the  manu- 
facture ;  such,  for  instance,  as  cutting  out  and  stamping.  The 
rates  of  wages  average  from  one  dollar  to  six  per  week ;  and 
some  children  become  so  expert,  after  a  short  time,  that  they  are 
enabled  to  contribute  to  the  support  of  their  families.  It  was 
found  extremely  difficult  at  first  to  train  the  American  girls  to 
that  minute  and  patient  attention  to  details  which  it  is  so  necessary 


166 


THE  GREAT  EXHIBITION. 


to  observe  throughout  the  different  processes  of  this  ingenious  art ; 
but,  the  school  having  once  been  formed,  they  fell  naturally  into 
the  routine  of  the  work,  and  brought  to  it  a  degree  of  taste  and 
intelligence  which  peculiarly  adapt  them  for  this  occupation, 
and  which  place  them  almost  on  a  level  with  the  best  French 
hands. 

The  busy  seasons  in  this  trade  are  from  the  first  week  in 
February  to  the  end  of  April  (for  spring  goods),  and  from  the  first 
week  in  August  until  the  end  of  October,  (for  winter  articles). 
The  spring  trade  commences  thus  early  in  order  to  give  the  buyers 
from  the  South  and  West  time  to  make  their  purchases  and  pre- 
pare for  the  coming  season.  There  are  more  artificial  flowers 
consumed  in  New  York,  Philadelphia,  Boston,  Cincinnati,  and 
New  Orleans,  than  in  the  whole  of  the  United  States  beside. 
The  credit  to  purchasers  is  six  months  ;  but  the  leading  houses 
take  advantage  of  the  discount,  and  pay  at  the  expiration  of  the 
month.  The  goods  that  remain  unsold  at  the  end  of  the  season, 
are  generally  disposed  of  at  a  reduction  of  twenty-five,  and  often 
fifty,  per  cent.,  the  freshness  of  the  article  constituting  one  of  its 
chief  recommendations. 

The  leading  manufacturing  houses  in  New  York,  are  those  of 
Christopher,  Saxton,  Guillaume  &  Korn,  Bassford,  G.  H.  Smith, 
and  Bianchi. 

The  importation  of  foreign  flowers  cannot  be  said  to  have  occu- 
pied any  place  in  our  Treasury  returns  until  about  fifteen  years 
since.  Brun  la  Rosiere,  Jacquelin,  and  Strange  Brothers,  were 
the  first  houses  that  gave  any  development  to  the  trade.  Of 
these  three,  we  believe,  the  house  of  Strange  Brothers  is  the  only 
one  now  in  existence.  The  other  leading  importers  are  Messrs. 
Lowitz,  Kahn,  Henderson,  and  Smythe. 

The  total  value  of  flowers  imported  does  not  exceed  $250,000. 
Of  these,  the  greater  part  comes  from  France.  A  few  parcels  are 
received  from  Vienna,  but  they  are  not  as  highly  esteemed  in  the 
market.  Neither  the  coloring  nor  the  mountings  are  as  true  to 
nature,  nor  as  graceful  as  those  of  French  manufacture. 

With  these  general  preliminaries,  we  will  now  proceed  to  give 
some  account  of  the  progress  of  manufacture,  which  may  be  in- 
teresting to  such  of  our  female  readers  as  occupy  themselves  in 


ARTIFICIAL  FLOWERS. 


167 


analogous  pursuits.  To  make  it  as  intelligible  as  possible,  we 
will  describe  tbe  progress  of  the  raw  materials,  through  the  dif- 
ferent stages  of  manipulation  necessary  to  form  them  into  the 
beautiful  flowers  which  imitate  so  closely  one  of  the  most  admira- 
ble productions  of  nature. 

On  entering  the  laboratory,  we  find  several  workmen  engaged 
in  the  preparation  of  colors  for  the  different  tints,  or  in  dyeing  the 
muslins  and  crapes  which  form  the  material  to  work  upon.  After 
being  saturated  with  the  color,  the  stuffs  are  stretched  on  frames 
and  left  to  dry ;  in  this  way,  a  piece  of  white  crape  can  be  dyed 
a  beautiful  emerald  green,  and,  placed  in  the  hands  of  the  cutter, 
in  the  course  of  about  half  an  hour,  ready  to  undergo  the  next 
process  through  which  it  has  to  pass.  The  silk  velvets  used  for 
winter  goods  are  stretched  on  frames  and  stiffened  with  a  coat  of 
size.  While  the  latter  is  wet,  a  piece  of  calico,  of  the  same  tint, 
is  laid  on  to  the  back  of  the  velvet,  and  another  coat  of  size  given 
to  it.  It  is  then  left  to  dry  before  it  passes  into  the  hands  of  the 
cutter.  None  but  white  cotton  velvet  are  ever  dyed,  the  original 
color  of  these  materials  being  sufficiently  varied  and  brilliant  to 
aflbrd  the  different  shades  wanted.  The  leaves  and  petals  of  the 
flowers  are  tinted  by  the  hand  with  a  camel's-hair  brush.  They 
require  great  nicety  of  execution,  the  beauty  of  the  flower  con- 
sisting in  the  degree  of  artistic  softness  with  which  the  different 
shades  are  blended  into  each  other. 

In  the  cutting-room,  we  find  a  number  of  boys  engaged  in  cut- 
ting out  with  metal  forms,  having  sharpened  edges  following  the 
outlines  of  the  object,  the  leaves,  and  other  parts  of  the  flower, 
which  are  susceptible  of  being  thus  treated.  The  material  is 
laid  on  a  lead  block,  to  prevent  the  edge  of  the  form  from  being 
blunted,  and  a  blow  of  a  hammer  being  given  to  the  latter,  eight 
folds  of  the  material  are  cut  at  a  stroke  into  so  many  leaves.  If 
velvet  be  employed,  its  thickness  will  not  admit  of  its  being  folded 
more  than  twice.  The  leaves  being  cut  to  the  required  form,  the 
next  process  is  to  impart  to  them,  by  pressure,  the  different  veins 
and  fibres  which  exist  in  the  original.  For  this  purpose,  dies  or 
stamps  are  used,  in  conjunction  with  their  matrix,  the  leaf  being 
inserted  between  them  and  submitted  to  the  action  of  a  hand- 


168 


THE  GREAT  EXHIBITION. 


press.  Nothing  can  be  more  perfect  or  natural  than  the  fibrous 
resemblance  thus  obtained. 

The  leaves  are  now  shaded  with  a  camel's-hair  pencil,  and  sent 
into  another  department,  to  have  stems  attached  to  them.  The 
wire  used  for  this  purpose  is  covered  either  with  silk  or  cotton 
floss,  and  is  imported  ready  prepared.  It  is  pasted  on  to  the  leaf, 
and  if  the  latter  be  made  of  muslin,  it  is  then  dipped  into  wax, 
to  impart  to  it  a  smooth  surface.  Some  of  the  leaves,  however, 
(those  intended  for  the  finer  descriptions  of  flowers,)  require  to  be 
painted  before  they  are  waxed.  None  but  a  very  expert  work- 
man can  be  intrusted  with  this  latter  process.  It  requires  great 
delicacy  of  manipulation  and  acquaintance  with  the  properties  of 
the  different  colors.  The  latter  are  specially  prepared  for  the 
purpose,  and  when  laid  on  are  fixed  by  means  of  gums. 

We  will  now  enter  the  flower-room,  where  the  materials  thus 
prepared  are  sent  to  be  completed.  Here  we  find  between 
forty  and  fifty  women  and  children  employed  in  passing  them 
through  their  different  stages.  Here,  also,  may  be  seen  another 
illustration  of  the  advantages  arising  from  the  division  of  labor ; 
the  materials  being  no  sooner  received  from  the  cutting-room 
than  they  are  worked  up  in  an  uncommonly  short  space  of 
time,  not  only  into  single  flowers,  but  into  elaborate  bunches 
ready  for  the  warehouse.  Let  us  take,  for  instance,  a  rose, 
and  follow  it  from  hand  to  hand  until  it  arrives  at  maturity. 
One  girl  makes  the  heart  of  the  flower,  either  with  thread  or 
raw  silk,  and  dipping  it  in  colored  gum  passes  .it  on  to  the  mon~ 
teuse.  The  petals  are  gauzed  by  another,  and  sent  to  the  same 
destination.  The  buds  are  intrusted  to  a  third,  generally  an 
experienced  hand  ;  and,  the  separate  parts  of  the  flower  being 
now  completed,  the  monteuse  groups  and  attaches  them  toge- 
ther. This  latter  is  the  most  important  person,  perhaps,  in  the 
whole  establishment ;  great  taste  and  practice  being  required  to 
combine  naturally  the  different  parts  of  the  flower.  In  most 
of  the  European  establishments,  the  persons  employed  in  this 
capacity  are  French  women,  as  they  are  considered  to  possess 
more  talent  in  this  respect  than  the  natives  of  other  countries. 
In  most  of  the  New  York  establishments,  we  are  happy  to  say, 
our  own  countrywomen  are  to  be  found  at  the  head  of  the  de- 


ARTIFICIAL  FLOWERS. 


ICC 


partment,  a  proof  that  they  are  not  considered  inferior  in  the 
qualities  necessary  to  the  successful  discharge  of  their  duties. 

Having  shown  that  this  branch  of  industry  is  rapidly  pro- 
gressing, and  that  we  are  likely  soon  to  extinguish  the  importa- 
tion of  foreign  goods  by  the  perfection  of  our  own  manufac- 
tures, it  will  be  naturally  expected  that  the  results  exhibited  at 
the  Crystal  Palace  will  afford  a  fair  index  of  its  present  pros- 
perous state.  Owing  to  some  unaccountable  feeling  of  apathy, 
however,  on  the  part  of  the  makers,  or  to  some  other  cause 
which  it'  is  difficult  to  penetrate,  we  regret  to  say  .that  this  is 
not  the  case.  With  the  exception  of  one  house,  that  of  Messrs. 
Guillaume  &  Korn,  we  do  not  see  any  of  our  leading  makers 
who  figure  on  the  list  of  contributors.  These  gentlemen  exhi- 
bit a  case  of  artificial  flowers,  consisting  of  tulips,  cacti,  came- 
lias,  jacinthuses  and  garlands,  composed  of  crape  flowers  and 
leaves,  every  part  of  which,  they  state,  was  manufactured  and 
mounted  in  their  factory  in  New  York.  They  are  most  beau- 
tifully executed,  and  appear  to  us  to  combine  lightness  and 
freshness  with  a  truthfulness  of  tint  and  fidelity  to  the  originals, 
which  render  them  worthy  to  be  classed  with  some  of  the  best 
French  flowers.  They  also  show  a  case  of  leaves,  which  com- 
prise an  immense  variety  of  the  different  species  of  foliage, 
and  which  are  characterized  by  the  same  careful  attention  to 
details.  They  were  all  made  in  their  factory,  and  afford  a  val- 
uable evidence  of  what  enterprise  and  perseverance  will  do, 
these  gentlemen  being  the  first  and  only  manufacturers  who 
have  attempted  the  fabrication  of  leaves  in  this  country,  and 
that  in  despite  of  obstacles  which  would  have  discouraged  most 
other  men.  We  have  already  noticed  the  very  beautiful 
etalage  of  Madame  Civatte,  in  speaking  of  the  French  depart- 
ment, and  therefore  shall  not  again  advert  to  it  here.  Mrs. 
Vonskillen,  of  New  York,  exhibits  a  case  of  paper  flowers  of  her 
own  manufacture,  which  display  considerable  taste  and  skill. 
They  appear,  however,  to  be  intermixed  with  French  flowers. 
There  are  several  contributions  in  wax  flowers  from  different 
parts  of  the  States,  but  they  seem  to  be  mostly  the  productions 
of  amateurs. 

In  some  of  the  specimens  exhibited  we  observe  a  noveltv 

8 


170 


THE  GREAT  EXHIBITION. 


which  seems  to  have  been  recently  introduced,  and  which  de- 
serves a  passing  remark.  We  allude  to  the  substitution  of 
crape  for  the  materials  recently  employed  in  the  fabrication  of 
the  leaves.  It  imparts  a  soft  and  peach-like  effect  to  them, 
which  no  other  material  is  capable  of  producing,  and  forms  a 
beautiful  background  to  the  bright  tints  of  the  flower. 


DAGUERREOTYPES. 


171 


XVII. 

DAGUERREOTYPES. 

If  there  be  any  one  department  in  the  whole  building  which 
is  peculiarly  American,  and  in  which  the  country  shines  pre- 
eminent, it  is  in  that  of  Daguerreotypes,  which  are  exhibited 
below  stairs ;  and  the  collection,  which  is  an  extensive  one,  is 
made  up  of  contributions  from  almost  every  section  of  the 
Union  where  the  art  is  practised.  In  contrasting  the  specimens 
of  art  which  are  taken  here  with  those  taken  in  European  coun- 
tries, the  excellence  of  American  pictures  is  evident,  which  is 
to  be  accounted  for  by  several  reasons.  In  the  first  place, 
American  skies  are  freer  from  fogs  and  clouds — from  bitumi- 
nous coal  not  being  much  used,  the  atmosphere  of  our  cities  is 
free  from  smoke,  at  least  upon  the  Atlantic  coasts.  Then  the 
chemicals  and  processes  are,  generally  speaking,  of  a  more  sen- 
sitive character,  and  the  apparatus  is  more  convenient  and  suit- 
able than  that  of  Europe.  Our  little  inventions  come  into  play 
and  aid  in  saving  time  and  developing  a  good  picture;  and  last, 
though  perhaps  not  least,  our  people  are  readier  in  picking  up 
processes  and  acquiring  the  mastery  of  the  art  than  our  trans- 
Atlantic  rivals.  Not  that  we  understand  the  science  better,  but 
the  details  of  the  art  are  acquired  in  a  shorter  time  by  us,  while 
the  enormous  practice  which  our  operators  enjoy  combines  to 
render  the  daguerreotype  a  necessary  contributor  to  the  com- 
forts of  life.  Does  a  child  start  on  the  journey  of  existence 
and  leave  his  "father's  halls  ;"  forthwith  the  little  image  is  pra 
duced  to  keep  his  memory  green.  Does  the  daughter  accept 
the  new  duties  of  matron,  or  does  the  venerated  parent  descend 
into  the  grave,  what  means  so  ready  to  revive  their  recollec- 
tion 1  Does  the  lover  or  the  husband  go  to  Australia  or  Cali- 
fornia, and  not  exchange  with  the  beloved  one  the  image  of 
what  afforded  so  much  delight  to  gaze  upon  ?    The  readiness 


172 


THE  GREAT  EXHIBITION. 


with  which  a  likeness  may  be  obtained,  the  truthfulness  of  the 
image,  and  the  smallness  of  cost,  render  it  the  current  pledge 
of  friendship  ;  and  the  immense  number  of  operators  who  are 
supported  by  the  art,  in  this  country,  shows  how  widely  the 
love  of  sun-pictures  is  diffused.  Several  thousand  industrious 
artists  and  artisans  are  occupied  in  the  preparation  of  very 
pure  chemicals,  as  bromine,  iodine,  gold  salts,  hyperphosphate 
of  soda.  Another  class  prepare  silvered  plates,  cases,  buffs, 
gilding,  cut  glass,  and  a  hundred  little  addenda.  Then  the 
manufacture  of  cameras  and  the  grinding  of  good  lenses  is  an 
important  branch  of  the  business  ;  for  without  a  camera  having 
good  lenses,  the  best  operator  would  fail  to  produce  an  image 
which  would  be  distinct  or  saleable ;  and  even  with  a  good 
Voigtlander  or  Harrison  camera,  it  requires  great  skill  to  focus 
the  image ;  for,  strange  as  it  may  .appear,  the  point  where  a 
good  view  of  the  sitter  is  obtained  is  not  the  point  best  adapted 
for  bringing  out  a  good  picture.  In  other  words,  the  focus  of 
vision  and  the  focus  of  chemical  action  are  not  the  same;  and 
hence,  when  we  have  the  one  we  lose  the  other.  This  is  owing 
to  the  fact  that  it  is  not  the  rays  of  color  on  the  solar  spectrum 
which  produce  the  image,  but  a  different  set  of  rays,  viz.,  those 
of  chemical  action ;  and  since  this  is  the  case,  we  submit  the 
opinion  that  it  is  not  possible  to  obtain  a  daguerreotype  in  its 
natural  colors,  as  Mr.  Hill  and  others  have  been  trying  to  de- 
lude our  operators  into  believing,  and  leading  themselves  and 
others  by  the  ignis  fatuus  of  plates  tortured  into  iridescent 
colors  by  chemical  oxydation.  But  we  are  getting  discursive 
upon  this  beautiful  art,  which  was  intended  to  subserve  many 
other  useful  purposes  than  that  of  portrait-painting. 

Everybody  knows  how  difficult  it  is  to  keep  silver  from 
tarnishing,  and  that  the  action  of  light  tends  to  destroy  all 
preparations  of  silver.  Some  of  these  are  more  readily  acted 
on  by  light  than  others — are  more  sensitive,  as  it  is  termed. 
Such  are  the  iodide,  bromide,  and  chloride  of  silver.  These 
salts  cannot  be  kept  exposed  to  the  light  for  any,  even  a  very 
short  time,  without  undergoing  some  change ;  and  when  a  plate 
of  silver  has  a  thin  layer  of  iodine  and  bromine  on  its  surface, 
and  is  placed  in  a  camera,  so  soon  as  the  screen  is  raised  the 


DAGUERREOTYPES. 


118 


image  of  the  sitter  falls  on  the  plate.  The  silver  plate  is  acted 
on  unequally,  producing  the  effects  of  light  and  shade  when 
brought  out,  as  it  is  termed,  by  exposure  to  the  vapor  of  quick- 
silver. It  is  then  fixed,  or  prevented  from  undergoing  further 
change,  by  washing  it  with  a  solution  of  gold. 

To  produce  a  daguerreotype  picture,  there  are  five  operations 
necessary.  The  first  is  cleaning  the  plate.  This  is  the  stum- 
bling-block of  most  operators.  They  are  not  cleanly  enough. 
Several  views  in  this  Exhibition  show  that  the  plates  were  not 
well  enough  cleaned.  Never  was  a  maxim  more  true  than  the 
old  one,  that  "  cleanliness  is  a  virtue" — when  it  has  reference 
to  daguerreotyping.  The  second  is  the  formation  of  the  sensi- 
tive iodide  of  silver  over  the  surface  of  the  plate.  The  third  is 
the  adjusting  the  plate  in  the  camera  obscura,  for  the  purpose 
of  receiving  the  impression.  The  fourth  is  the  bringing  out  the 
photographic  picture,  which  is  invisible  when  the  plate  is  taken 
from  the  camera.  The  fifth,  and  last,  is  to  remove  the  excess 
of  sensitive  coating,  and  thus  prevent  that  susceptibility  to 
change  under  luminous  influence  which  would  otherwise  exist 
and  ultimately  efface  the  picture.  The  second  operation  is  that 
which  gives  tone  and  warmth  to  the  picture,  and  when  per- 
formed by  skillful  hands,  makes  a  daguerreotype  a  beautiful 
piece  of  art.  The  clearness  and  distinctness  of  the  image  is  pro- 
duced by  the  third  process,  when  carefully  conducted,  and  the 
whole  picture  should  be  distinct  over  the  whole  plate.  These 
remarks  will  serve  to  illustrate  the  subjoined  notes  upon  the 
collections  in  the  Exhibition. 

Mr.  Lawrence  exhibits  a  case  in  which  softness  of  tone  and 
distinctness  of  image  are  united  with  artistic  arrangement.  The 
latter  quality  is  specially  noticeable  in  "  The  Three  Ages."  The 
mechanical  execution  of  these  pictures  is  unexcelled.  These 
pictures  of  Mr.  L.  were  exhibited  in  London.  Mr.  Brady's 
collection  is  not  very  large,  but  there  are  a  few  very  good  pic- 
tures exhibited  by  him.  In  Gurney's  collection  the  coloring  of 
the  back-ground  has  a  fine  effect ;  there  are  some  very  well 
executed  portraits,  among  which  is  one  of  Mr.  Forrest,  worth 
notice  as  a  work  of  art ;  taken  as  a  whole,  there  is  less  softness 
and  more  distinctness  in  this  collection  than  in  that  of  Lawrence. 


THE  GREAT  EXHIBITION. 


The  picture  of  Ware  and  his  sister  is  an  instance  of  a  picture 
well  developed  when  the  chemical  action  extends  to  the  margin 
of  the  plate.  The  collection  of  Meade  Brothers,  taken  as  a 
whole,  is  fair,  there  being  great  variety  in  the  display,  and 
some  pictures  of  merit.  The  portrait  of  Daguerre,  in  this  col- 
lection, is  the  only  one  of  the  kind  in  this  country,  having  been 
taken  by  one  of  the  exhibitors  when  in  France,  in  1848.  Shake- 
speare's "  Seven  Ages"  are  illustrated  on  as  many  plates,  taken 
from  life.  The  earlier  pictures  of  this  series  are  better  con- 
ceived than  the  later  ones,  especially  those  representing  the  Sol- 
dier and  the  Lover.  The  Meades  have  also  a  number  of  heads 
on  the  largest-sized  plates;  some  Daguerreotypes  colored  to 
resemble  miniatures  on  ivory  ;  and  what  are  termed  by  them 
Instantaneous  Daguerreotypes.  These  do  not  possess  any  re- 
markable merit.  We  perceive  in  Brady's  collection  some  well- 
selected  heads,  among  which  are  two  of  President  Pierce  and 
one  of  Lieut.  Maury.  M.  A.  Root  has  a  large  and  respectable 
collection  now  on  view,  among  which  are  many  specimens  of 
his  Crayon  Daguerreotypes. 

D.  Clark,  New-Brunswick,  N.  J.,  has  four  pictures  of  merit; 
and  Van  Schneidan  a  small  collection  of  well -selected  heads.  J. 
Brown  has  a  collection  of  portraits  of  Commodore  Perry  and 
the  officers  of  the  squadron  of  the  Japan  Expedition,  in  half- 
sized  plates  ;  the  interest  of  this  collection  is  much  marred  by 
the  names  of  the  officers  not  being  attached  underneath  the 
plate  ;  it  is  not  too  late  to  rectify  this  omission.  Haas  has  a 
whole-plate  allegorical  figure  of  a  family  man  reading  the  paper 
at  home — an  excellent  idea  and  well  executed.  Besides  this,  he 
has  a  couple  of  other  pictures,  though  on  the  whole  his  show  is 
mediocre.  In  the  cases  of  Harrison  &  Hill  there  is  displayed 
excellent  artistic  arrangement  with  very  indifferent  mechanical 
execution.  In  the  mammoth  plates  occupied  by  allegorical  de- 
signs, the  back -ground  is  wretchedly  brought  out — the  plates 
were  not  properly  cleaned,  and  are  full  of  scratches  ;  there  are 
a  few  half  and  whole-sized  pictures  set  in  gaudy  frames. 

Webster,  of  Louisville,  Ky.,  has  twenty-three  pictures,  pos- 
sessing clearness.  They  have,  however,  been  exposed  a  little 
too  much  to  the  camera ;  they  lack  warmth,  but  are  otherwise 


DAGUERREOTYPES. 


116, 


well  developed,  and  exhibit  good  mechanical  execution.  Alex- 
ander Hesler  has  a  collection  of  whole  plates  handsomely  exe- 
cuted, possessing  a  nice  arrangement  of  the  drapery,  which  has 
the  effect  of  throwing  the  head  out  in  good  relief.  There  is  ar- 
tistic arrangement  in  this  collection,  especially  evinced  in  the 
picture  "  Driving  a  Trade,"  one  of  a  series  illustrating  character 
and  passion.  The  panoramic  views  of  Galena,  111.,  show  that 
city  to  advantage ;  and  the  three  views  of  the  Falls  of  St.  An- 
thony possess  great  merit.  Mr.  North,  of  Cleveland,  O.,  has  a 
case  of  pretty  fair  likenesses,  perhaps  exhibiting  the  lights  too 
strongly.  Bisbee,  of  Dayton,  O.,  exhibits  a  panoramic  view  of 
Cincinnati  from  Newport,  upon  six  large  plates.  This  view  is, 
without  exception,  the  finest  thing  in  the  whole  room  ;  we  might 
even  go  further,  and  say  that  it  is  the  finest  view  by  the  Da- 
guerrean  process  ever  exhibited.  The  mechanical  execution  is 
excellent,  the  perspective  good,  and  the  development  unsur- 
passed. The  effect  of  the  smoke  over  the  southern  part  of  the 
city  is  very  finely  given.  The  distinctness  of  the  letter-signs, 
three-quarters  of  a  mile  distant  and  across  the  Ohio  river,  is 
well  brought  out.  The  rest  of  the  collection  is  fair,  possessing 
no  peculiar  merit.  Williamson  exhibits  a  poor  collection.  Do- 
byn,  Richardson  &  Co.  have  several  whole-size,  well-executed 
specimens,  in  which  the  mechanical  part,  the  artistic  arrange- 
ment, and  the  chemical  effect,  are  good.  The  "Cupid  Repos- 
ing" is  a  very  ungraceful  posture  of  an  ill-formed  child,  and 
the  coloring  is  bad.  That  of  the  Bateman  Children,  in  charac- 
ter, is  a  good  picture.  There  are  some  exceedingly  well-exe- 
cuted heads  in  this  collection. 

Long,  of  St.  Louis,  has  four  frames  of  one  hundred  and  eighty 
heads  of  Wyman's  School,  in  that  city,  with  the  edifice  and 
principal ;  they  possess  no  merit.  A  likeness  of  Prof.  Mitchell, 
Cincinnati,  is  well  executed.  Some  of  the  pictures  in  this  col- 
lection are  invested  with  papier  mache  frames  inlaid  with  mo- 
ther-of-pearl and  tinsel.  As  this  style  of  frame  appears  in  a 
few  other  collections,  we  may  as  well  here  express  our  dissent 
from  the  use  of  this  material,  as  being  too  gaudy  and  wholly 
unsuitable  for  daguerreotype  plates.  These  latter  are  difficult 
to  be  viewed  except  in  one  light,  and  from  the  brightness  of 


176 


THE  GREAT  EXHIBITION. 


their  surface,  are  much  set  off  by  deadened  color  on  the  frames, 
while  the  glare  and  iridescence  of  the  papier  mache  add  to  the 
difficulty  of  discerning  the  picture  ;  the  use  of  such  implies  bad 
taste  in  the  artist.  We  felt  this  opinion  growing  upon  us  as 
we  looked  at  them,  and  felt  our  view  corroborated  by  a  board- 
ing-school miss,  who  whisked  alongside  of  us,  and,  caught  by 
the  colors,  exclaimed,  "  Oh  my  !  aint  those  frames  beautiful  ?" 
Fitzgibbon  has  the  richest  exposition  in  the  Fair — the  most  ex- 
pensive frames,  with  a  large  and  passable  collection.  The 
mammoth  plate  of  Judge  Colt  is  very  good — that  of  Jenny 
Lind  the  best  in  the  Exhibition— those  of  McAllister,  Julia 
Dean,  Kate  Hayes,  and  Kossuth,  are  good  pictures.  His  col- 
lection of  Indian  Warriors  is  a  very  fine  one,  which  we  under- 
stand is  to  be  forwarded  to  the  Ethnological  Society  of  Lon- 
don, to  have  copies  and  busts  made  from  them.  Masury  and 
Silsbee,  Boston,  exhibit  twelve  very  pretty  and  tasteful  plates, 
with  good  arrangement,  and  well  finished.  The  collections  of 
Kilsey,  Beals,  and  Howe,  do  not  require  notice.  Whitehurst 
has  a  few  good  pictures  in  a  large  and  passable  collection  ;  he 
has  ten  pictures  illustrating  the  Falls  of  Niagara,  which  are 
very  well  executed.  Some  of  his  large  heads  have  their  features 
out  of  all  proportion.  Whipple,  of  Boston,  has  a  collection  of 
photographic  pictures,  which  he  calls  Crystallotypes,  taken  from 
hyalotypes ;  there  are  a  plate  of  the  moon  daguerreotyped,  and 
one  of  the  spots  on  the  sun.  McDonnell  &  Co.,  Buffalo,  have 
a  very  poor  collection — so  poor  as  not  to  deserve  a  place  in 
the  Exhibition ;  the  views  of  Niagara  are  fine.  Hawkins  ex- 
hibits photographs  on  paper.  Drummond,  eight  plates  of  the 
Order  of  Freemasons  in  their  lodge  dress.  Fitzgibbon  (already 
noticed)  exhibits  a  very  interesting  case,  which  is  a  frame  of 
electrotype  copies  from  daguerreotype  plates,  very  beautifully 
executed.  It  should  not  be  looked  upon  as  a  mere  curiosity  to 
place  a  daguerreotype  plate  in  a  copper  solution  and  take  a  cop- 
per cast  from  its  surface  by  means  of  electricity :  the  copper 
cast  looks  much  warmer  in  tone  than  the  original.  It  is  to  be 
regretted  that  Fitzgibbon  did  not  complete  this  frame  by  the 
insertion  of  a  third  plate,  ,by  taking  a  second  copy  from  the 


DAGUERREOTYPES.  m 

copper  copy.  This  would  be  in  relief,  like  the  original  silver- 
plate,  and  is  susceptible  of  being  treated  like  an  engraved  plate, 
yielding,  when  inked,  prints  resembling  mezzotint.  Beside  the 
above  collection  of  daguerreotypes,  there  is  an  assortment  of 
cameras,  lenses,  stereoscopes,  and  photographic  paper,  which 
are  of  interest  to  those  practicing  these  beautiful  arts. 


8* 


178 


THE  GREAT  EXHIBITION. 


XVIII 
HATS. 

In  one  of  the  principal  arms  of  the  Greek  cross  which  describes 
the  architectural  form  of  the  Crystal  Palace,  and  immediately 
facing  the  entrance  from  the  Sixth- Avenue,  stands  a  monument 
of  ambitious  proportions  and  cunning  detail,  which  overshadows 
in  its  pretensions,  and  in  the  importance  of  the  locality  assigned 
to  it,  most  of  the  other  objects  in  our  Exhibition.  The  exegi 
monume?itum  of  the  Latin  poet  has  so  evidently  suggested  the  con- 
ception and  presided  over  the  execution  of  this  remarkable  struc- 
ture, that  we  should  be  wanting  in  duty  as  chroniclers  of  the  glories 
of  our  industrial  Pantheon  were  we  to  postpone  examining  the  me- 
rits of  the  particular  manufacture  which  this  Temple  of  Fashion  is 
designed  to  illustrate. 

Smile  not,  ye  worshipers  of  those  refined  arts  which  advanced 
the  early  republics  of  Greece  and  Rome  to  such  a  high  degree  of 
civilization.  Sneer  not,  ye  connoisseurs  in  Sevres  tea  cups  and 
Dresden  monstrosities.  Bow  down  your  heads  reverentially,  ye 
carvers  in  wood  and  workers  in  base  metals,  as  ye  pass  this  im- 
posing fane,  enduring  monument  of  an  ambition  which,  if  wc 
judge  from  the  emblems  by  which  it  is  crowned,  would  fain  soar 
into  the  heavens  and  "  cap"  even  the  globe  itself.  Its  architec- 
tural order  may  be  somewhat  too  composite  for  your  taste — its 
contents  too  familiar  to  excite  your  wonder — the  reputation  of  its 
owner  too  much  associated  with  previous  feats  of  self-illustration 
to  enlist  your  attention  ;  but  you  would  do  well  to  remember  that 
this  man  is  a  perfect  type  of  the  proverbial  energy  and  enterprise 
of  his  country,  and  that  he  has  done  more  to  contribute  toward 
its  material  prosperity  by  the  extent  and  importance  of  his  opera- 
tions, than  scores  of  the  art-imitators  who  hold  up  their  heads  so 
high  and  turn  up  their  noses  so  scornfully  at  a  success  which 
their  incapacity  forbids  their  achieving. 


'HATS. 


179 


The  professional  critic  must  not,  however,  run  away  with  the 
notion  that  the  simple  articles  of  every-day  use,  to  the  exhibition 
of  which  this  pretentious  looking  temple  is  devoted,  are  in  them- 
selves unworthy  of  the  prominent  place  which  in  its  wisdom  the 
Executive  Committee  has  allotted  to  them.  In  all  ages,  in  pro- 
portion as  intellectual  superiority  has  been  appreciated,  a  signifi- 
cant importance  seems  to  have  been  attached  to  the  protection  of 
the  organ  whence  it  was  derived.  It  would  seem,  even,  that  the 
hat  itself  borrows  something  of  the  peculiar  idiosyncrasy  of  the 
wearer.  Thus,  for  instance,  its  firm  set  on  the  head  is  considered 
to  indicate  determination — its  depression  over  the  brows,  pug- 
nacity— its  retreat  from  the  forehead,  carelessness — its  jaunty  in- 
clination to  the  right  or  left  rouerie — and  its  rough  and  negligent 
condition,  slovenliness.  What  an  important  part  does  it  play, 
too,  in  the  courtesies  of  life  ?  The  relative  degrees  of  respect 
and  social  consideration  are  in  no  other  action  more  accurately 
defined  than  in  the  manner  in  which  it  is  employed  in  the  ameni- 
ties of  daily  intercourse.  In  its  nice  adaptation  to  the  necessities 
of  the  moment,  the  prejudices  of  rank  are  conciliated  and  the  re- 
verence due  to  age  becomingly  rendered.  With  women  there  is 
no  surer  passport  to  favor  than  its  graceful  introduction  in  those 
subtle  evolutions  which  constitute  in  their  eyes  the  test  of  gentle 
breeding.  Of  all  nations  the  French  are  perhaps  the  most 
skilled  in  the  use  of  the  hat.  In  the  air  of  profound  respect  with 
which  a  Parisian  exquisite  instantaneously  uncovers  on  meeting  a 
lady,  and  in  the  negligent  grace  of  the  position  into  which  he 
throws  himself  as  he  balances  it  tenderly  between  the  forefinger 
and  thumb  of  his  accurately  gloved  hand  we  recognize  the  very 
perfection  of  the  savoir  faire.  He  is  so  impressed  with  the  ad- 
vantages of  the  self-possession  and  concentration  of  ideas  which  its 
aid  affords  him  that  he  carries  it  with  him  into  the  salon^  and  en- 
trenches himself  behind  it  as  a  species  of  breastwork.  When  his 
fair  enemy's  batteries  are  carried,  he  cautiously  emerges  from  its 
protection  and  ventures  on  a  sortie  which  secures  a  truce  for  the 
remainder  of  the  visit. 

What  an  infallible  index,  too,  does  the  physical  condition  of  the 
hat  afford  to  the  position  and  circumstances  of  its  owner  !  The 
wholesome  faith  in  this  now  generally  received  fact,  makes  men 


180 


THE  GREAT  EXHIBITION. 


who  are  disposed  to  be  slovenly  exceedingly  careful  in  this  parti- 
cular. It  is  an  axiom  in  the  economy  of  dress,  that  a  gentleman 
may,  without  derogating  from  his  social  position,  indulge  in  the 
luxury  of  an  old  coat,  provided  always  that  he  complies  with  the 
cardinal  conditions  of  a  glossy  hat,  spotless  linen  and  well-fitting 
gloves  and  boots.  If  you  are  too  independent  to  submit  to  these 
conventional  trammels,  present  yourself,  by  way  of  experiment, 
under  the  debris  of  a  napless  beaver,  to  one  of  those  favored  mor- 
tals whom  luck,  rather  than  merit,  has  placed  within  the  cate- 
gory of  the  Upper  Ten.  The  most  sensible  man  is  so  apt  to  be 
swayed  by  external  appearances,  that  it  is  next  to  certain  that  he 
will  button  up  his  breeches  pocket  and  meet  you  with  the  uncha- 
ritable judgment  of  Pindar : 

"  A  rusty  hat  seems  to  contain 
A  skull  quite  destitute  of  brain." 

Why  even  the  very  porter  at  his  door  will  measure  you  con- 
temptuously from  head  to  foot,  and  if  he  has  a  dog,  there  are  ten 
chances  to  one  that  the  aristocratic  cur  will  fly  at  your  legs  and 
render  your  condition  still  more  ruinous.  "With  man  and  beast, 
the  date  obolum  seems  an  inevitable  conclusion  from  a  faded  hat. 

That  the  fashion  of  the  hat  may  convey  a  political  meaning, 
the  records  not  only  of  past  but  of  our  own  times  will  show. 
Numberless  instances  might  be  cited  of  the  important  part 
which  it  played  in  the  political  troubles  of  both  England  and 
France,  and  we  need  only  refer  to  the  reign  of  Charles  I.  as  a 
proof  of  the  powerful  influence  which  it  exercised  in  keeping 
alive  the  bitterness  and  exasperation  of  the  great  parties  which 
were  then  struggling  for  the  mastery.  Even  within  our  own 
recollection,  the  Calabrian  hat  became  not  only  the  badge  of  a 
party,  but  an  object  of  proscription  to  the  tyrants  of  Italy.  The 
cock  of  a  revolutionary  beaver  was  more  feared  by  them  than 
the  click  of  a  musket.  To  the  credit  of  the  French  despot  be 
it  said  that,  if  he  has  deprived  the  Socialist  of  every  other  priv- 
ilege, he  has  not  attempted  to  deprive  him  of  this  harmless 
means  of  vindicating  his  opinions. 

With  the  assumption  of  a  superior  moral  condition,  the  fash- 
ion of  the  hat  has  been  also  somewhat  oddly  associated.  Pre- 
vious even  to  the  formation  of  the  sect  which  has  adopted  a^ 


HATS. 


181 


one  of  the  cardinal  points  of  its  creed  an  unusual  expanse  of 
beaver,  the  TartufFes  and  Cantwells  of  scenic  representations 
were  similarly  distinguished.  Why  a  more  elevated  phase  of 
our  spiritual  nature  should  be  indicated  by  an  acre  of  brim,  is, 
however,  a  question  of  too  metaphysical  a  nature  to  be  discussed 
within  the  limits  of  the  present  article. 

We  think  we  have  said  enough  to  prove  that,  independent  of 
its  material  uses,  there  is  a  moral  significancy  in  our  subject. 

Let  us  now  view  it  in  its  commercial  bearings,  and  see 
whether  it  justifies  the  importance  we  attach  to  it. 

The  public  generally  are  so  little  acquainted  with  the  material 
employed  in  the  manufacture  of  the  hat,  and  are  so  disposed  to 
take  in  trust  the  assurances  of  the  maker  as  to  its  quality,  that 
a  few  details  explanatory  of  both  may  prove  useful  to  the  unini- 
tiated. The  materials  used  for  making  hats  are,  beside  silk, 
the  fur  of  hares  and  rabbits,  chosen  from  the  long  hair,  together 
with  wool,  and  beaver,  and  nutria.  The  finer  descriptions  of 
hats  were  formerly  made  of  beaver,  but  since  the  introduction 
of  u  water-proofing,"  it  is  found  unnecessary  to  use  so  valuable 
a  material  in  the  foundation.  The  body  of  a  beaver  hat  is  now 
made  of  fine  wool  and  coarse  fur,  mixed  and  felted  together, 
then  stiffened  and  shaped  ;  the  "  napping  "  or  covering  of  the 
best  hats  consists  of  a  mixture  of  cheek  beaver,  with  white  and 
brown  stage  beaver,  or  seasoned  beaver,  commonly  called 
woo?ns.  The  inferior  kinds  are  napped  with  mixtures  of  stage- 
beaver,  nutria,  hare-fur,  wool,  and  musquash.  Silk  hats  are 
made  from  silk  plush  or  shag,  and,  owing  to  the  improvements 
introduced  into  their  manufacture  in  late  years,  have  grown  into 
favor.  The  cane  and  willow  framework  formerly  used  in  them 
imparted  to  them  a  hard  appearance  and  feel,  which  was  often 
attended  with  great  discomfort  to  the  wearer.  This  has  been 
obviated  by  the  use  of  beaver,  silk,  and  muslin  foundations,  and 
the  consequence  has  been,  that  a  greater  impulse  has  been  given 
to  this  branch  of  the  trade.  One  of  the  most  important  im- 
provements, however,  which  has  been  introduced  into  hat  manu- 
facture is  that  of  "  water-proofing''  the  bodies  previous  to  their 
being  napped.  The  elastic  properties  of  the  gums  used  in  this 
process,  when  dissolved  in  pure  alcohol  or  naptha,  imparts  a 


182 


THE  GREAT  EXHIBITION. 


body  to  the  materials  which  enables  the  maker  to  reduce  a  con- 
siderable proportion  of  their  weight. 

As  an  illustration  of  the  value  of  this  improvement,  we  may 
mention  that,  about  twenty  years  since,  ninety-six  ounces  of 
stuff  were  worked  up  into  one  dozen  ordinary-sized  hats  fur 
gentlemen,  while  at  present  from  thirty-three  to  thirty-four 
ounces  only  are  required  to  complete  the  same  quantity.  Felt 
hats  and  cordies  are  the  coarsest  species  of  the  manufacture,  be- 
ing made  wholly  of  inferior  wools.  Cordies  are,  however,  dis- 
tinguished by  a  fine  covering  of  camel  or  goat-hair.  It  is  a  sin- 
gular fact,  that  the  jpetasus  of  the  ancients  was  identical,  both  in 
material  and  form,  with  the  common  felt  hat  worn  by  agricul- 
tural laborers  at  the  present  day.  We  must  not,  however, 
wander  into  the  classical  literature  of  the  hat,  seeing  that  it  has 
been  exhausted  in  some  of  the  professional  brochures  of  our-  New 
York  dealers. 

As  regards  the  machinery  used  in  the  process  of  manufac- 
ture, we  may  as  well  take  this  opportunity  of  stating  that  no 
trade  has  benefited  less  by  the  labors  of  the  inventor.  There 
are  two  causes  for  this.  In  the  first  place,  many  of  the  opera- 
tions are  of  so  delicate  a  nature  that  manipulation  can  hardly  be 
dispensed  with ;  and  in  the  second,  such  improvements  as  have 
been  effected  have  met  with  determined  opposition  on  the  part 
of  the  workmen.  This  is  the  case  not  only  here  but  in  Eng- 
land ;  and  in  fact  the  balance  of  liberality  lies  with  us.  Some 
few  years  since,  an  American  named  Williams,  invented  a  ma- 
chine for  forming  hat-bodies.  It  economizes  half  the  labor  pre- 
viously expended  in  this  operation,  and  at  least  three-fourths  of 
the  hat-bodies  made  in  this  country  are  formed  by  it.  The 
attempt  to  introduce  it  into  general  use  in  England  proved  a 
failure,  owing  to  the  opposition  of  the  body-makers,  who 
refused  to  assist  in  the  necessary  process,  termed  basining. 
It  is  now  only  used  by  the  English  in  the  preparations  of  the 
shells  required  for  silk  hats.  A  machine  has  also  been  invented 
by  a  Frenchman  for  shaping  the  brims  ;  but  it  is  very  little 
used  here,  although  it  is  very  effective,  and  can  do  the  work  of 
five  men. 

It  is  a  curious  fact  that  the  oval  form  now  given  to  hats  is  of 


HATS. 


183 


comparatively  recent  introduction ;  dating,  we  believe,  not 
more  than  twenty  years  back.  Previous  to  that  time,  round 
blocks  were  employed,  and  the  head  of  the  wearer,  to  its  great 
discomfort,  was  left  to  perform  the  task  of  accommodating  the 
hat  to  its  proper  shape. 

There  is  no  manufacture,  perhaps,  which  confers  more 
general  benefits  on  the  communities  situated  in  the  immediate 
neighborhood  of  its  operations,  from  the  opportunities  which  it 
affords  for  the  employment  of  both  the  males  and  females,  and 
sometimes  of  the  children,  of  a  family.  In  other  countries,  the 
children  may  be  advantageously  employed  in  plucking  the  bea- 
ver skins,  cropping  off  the  fur,  sorting  various  qualities  of  wool, 
plucking  and  cutting  rabbits'  fur,  shearing  the  nap  of  the 
blocked  hat,  picking  out  unseemly  filaments  of  fur,  and  even 
trimming — that  is  to  say,  binding  and  lining  the  hat.  As  most, 
if  not  all,  the  materials  imported  into  the  United  States  arrive 
here  ready  prepared,  but  few  opportunities  are  afforded  here 
for  the  employment  of  children.  We  do  not,  of  course,  include 
in  this  classification  apprentices,  whose  ages  range  from  14  tc 
20.  In  England  and  on  the  continent  of  Europe,  the  depres- 
sion of  the  finer  branches  of  the  manufacture  has  affected  con 
siderably  the  earnings  of  the  workmen  engaged  in  them,  as  a 
less  amount  of  skill  and  labor  is  required  in  the  production  of 
silk  hats  than  beavers  ;  and  the  increased  quantity  produced  in 
the  lower  description,  has  not  furnished  an  amount  of  employ- 
ment equivalent  to  the  decrease  in  the  higher  branch.  With 
us,  this  tendency  towards  the  use  of  an  inferior  and  more  eco- 
nomical article,  has  not  been  so  much  felt,  owing  to  a  variety 
of  causes,  the  principal  of  which  is  no  doubt  the  greater  com- 
fort and  prosperity  of  our  working  classes. 

As  no  certain  data  exist,  on  which  a  correct  estimate  can  be 
formed  of  the  value  of  the  different  branches  of  the  manufac- ' 
ture,  or  of  their  aggregate  amount,  we*  have  taken  the  trouble 
to  collect  the  following  particulars,  which,  though  not  from  offi- 
cial sources,  may  be  relied  upon  as  tolerably  accurate  : 


184 


THE  GREAT  EXHIBITION. 


HATTERS'  MATERIALS — ANNUAL  IMPORTS. 

660,000  yards  of  Silk  Plush  (French),  at  an  average  cost  of  $2 

per  yard,  ;  $1,120,000 

The  above  amount  of  plush  will  make  1,120,000  hats,  worth  at  re- 
tail $4,480,000. 

90,000  yards  of  Silk  Plush  (German),  at  an  average  of  $1  38  per 

yard,   121,000 

This  amount  will  make  180,000  hats,  worth  at  retail  $540,000. 

800,000  yards  of  Angola  Cotton  Plush  (French  and  German),  at 

$1  per  yard,   800,000 

2,400,000  hats  can  be  manufactured  out  of  the  above  quantity, 
worth  at  retail,  at  $1  25  each,  $3,0*00,000. 

Coney  and  Hare's  Furs,  imported  from  France  and  Germany,. . .  .1,000,000 

These  materials  are  used  for  the  bodies  of  hats  and  the  making  of 
California  and  soft  hats.  About  4,000,000  of  these  latter  de- 
scriptions of  hats  are  made  annually  in  this  country.  At  an 
average  of  $1,  they  will  make  $4,000,000. 

Amount  of  other  goods  used  by  hatters,  such  as  linings,  bindings, 

bands,  <fec,  the  greater  part  of  which  are  imported,   2,100,000 

TOTAL. 

HATS.  VALUE. 

Men's  Silk  Hats,  1st  quality,                               1,120,000  $4,480,000 

Men's  Silk  Hats,  2d  quality,                                  180,000  540,000 

Men's  Silk  Hats,  3d  quality,                                2,400,000  3,000,000 

Men's  California  or  Soft  Hats,                             4,000,000  4,000,000 

Men's  and  Boys'  Caps,                                       4,000,000  3,000,000 

Total  11,700,000  $15,020,000 

In  the  manufacture  of  the  above  there  are  24,000  per- 
sons employed,  one  half  of  them  are  men  and  the  remainder 
women. 

The  consumption  of  Straw  Hats  amounts  to  about  1,500,000, 
?n  naif  of  which  are  imported.    The  average  value  is  $1  50 
each  hat. 

The  capital  invested  in  the  Hatting  Trade  in  this  country  is 
little  short  of  $8,000,000. 

One  of  the  most  singular  features  of  the  competition  induced 
by  exhibitions  like  the  present,  is  the  struggle  to  elicit  new  ideas 
from  common-place  materials,  or  by  a  high-sounding  nomencla- 
ture to  impart  importance  to  objects  that  would  otherwise  fail  to 
arrest  the  attention.    In  the  manufacture  of  hats,  this  latter  pe- 


HATS. 


185 


culiarity  assumes  an  amusing  character,  from  the  extremes  to 
which  it  is  carried,  while  it  also  serves  to  atone  for  the  lack 
of  interest  resulting  from  that  uniformity  of  material  and  style  to 
which  it  has  been  reduced  by  the  absurd  canons  of  modern  taste. 
If,  therefore,  we  occasionally  fall  into  a  train  of  reflections  sug- 
gested by  the  grotesque  images  presented  to  our  minds,  the  ex- 
hibitor must  take  it  in  good  part  if  our  impressions  do  not  always 
coincide  with  the  effect  which  he  seeks  to  produce. 

Selecting  rather  with  a  view  to  the  gratification  of  the  whim 
of  the  moment  than  with  reference  to  the  superior  quality  of  the 
articles  exhibited,  let  us  commence  our  task  by  an  inspection  of 
that  small  case  belonging  to  Amidon,  of  Broadway.  Within  the 
narrow  compass  of  that  glass  inclosure,  are  contained  objects 
whose  features  are  familiar  to  our  recollection  and  names  that 
occupy  a  large  space  in  the  revolutionary  annals  of  our  day.  We 
might  incline  to  the  belief  that  in  the  choice  of  his  models  are 
worthy  French  concitoyens  intended  at  once  to  glorify  the  country 
of  his  birth  and  flatter  the  political  tastes  of  the  country  of  his 
adoption,  were  it  not  for  the  infelicitous  association  with  them  of 
one  of  the  great  historic  titles  of  France — a  name,  too,  deservedly 
dear  to  the  English  aristocracy.  If  hats  only  possessed  a  share 
of  the  susceptibilities  of  their  owners,  we  cannot  help  thinking 
how  strangely  uncomfortable  these  cylindrical  eccentricities  would 
feel  in  such  close  propinquity  to  each  other.  But  let  us  proceed 
with  our  examination.  In  that  "  baseless  fabric  "  of  rabbit's  fur 
and  plush,  which  occupies  the  peg  in  the  corner,  were  conceived 
vast  designs  and  ambitious  hopes,  which  ended  in  the  overthrow 
of  a  dynasty,  and  the  ruin  of  the  republic  that  succeeded  it. 
Many  a  time  have  we  seen  that  remarkable  beaver,  uplifted  in 
the  energy  of  passionate  declamation  to  stir  the  hearts  of  the 
masses  that  thronged  the  Hotel  de  Ville,  or  to  stimulate  into 
frenzy  the  volcanic  elements  that  were  seething  and  foaming  in 
the  bosom  of  the  National  Assembly.  Every  thump  of  that  hat 
brought  down  with  it  either  the  thundering  acclamations  of  the 
Montagnards  or  the  tumultuous  murmurs  of  the  partisans  of 
legitimist  or  imperial  pretensions.  And  yet,  in  its  conical  inclina- 
tion, modest  brim,  and  trim  compliance  with  the  prevailing  fashion 
of  the  day,  we  recognize  rather  the  harmless  foppishness  of  the 


186 


THE  GREAT  EXHIBITION. 


fl&neur  than  the  restless  energy  and  fierce  impetuosity  of  the 
tribune.  In  the  unusual  width  of  the  crown,  however,  the  phre- 
nological observer  will  detect  that  large  cerebral  development, 
which  would  negative  the  conclusions  to  which  these  appear- 
ances might  otherwise  lead.  As  you  contemplate  that  hat,  you 
would  do  well  to  reflect  upon  the  instability  of  human  greatness, 
and  the  vanity  and  emptiness  of  all  things  mundane.  Its  owner 
is  now  an  exile  and  a  wanderer,  like  the  family  of  the  monarch 
whom  he  helped  to  expel.  He  that  directed  the  foreign  affairs 
of  France,  and  stretched  the  vigorous  arm  of  her  power  to  the 
uttermost  confines  of  the  earth,  either  to  protect  her  children  or 
to  vindicate  her  rights,  cannot  now  lay  claim  even  to  the  anoma- 
lous title  of  a  French  citizen,  or  look  forward  to  a  last  resting- 
place  beneath  that  maternal  sod  which  consigns  to  oblivion  our 
virtues  and  our  faults.  Uncover  !  You  look  upon  the  hat  of 
Ledru  Rollin  ! 

In  appropriate  juxtaposition  with  this  interesting  relic,  and 
towering  above  it  in  the  majesty  of  its  proportions,  hangs  that 
unmistakable  and  formidable  beaver,  whose  daily  appearance  in 
the  streets  of  revolutionary  Paris  inspired  such  hopes  and  fears 
among  the  timid,  and  served  as  a  rallying-point  to  the  bold.  In 
the  unparalleled  audacity  of  its  style,  we  can  read  at  a  glance 
the  character  of  that  celebrated  commis-voyageur,  who  con 
trived  to  create  an  imperium  in  imperio  of  the  Prefecture  of 
Police,  and  to  frighten  the  wits  out  of  the  Executive  Government. 
Combining  the  high  bombe  crown  of  the  Empire  witri  the  broad, 
oval,  deeply  gimped  brim  of  the  D'Orsay  epoch,  exaggerated  to 
alarming  proportions,  its  first  aspect  overwhelms  one  with  aston- 
ishment, succeeded  by  feelings  of  respect  and  admiration  for  the 
hardy  spirit  which  had  the  genius  to  conceive,  and  the  courage  to 
wear  such  an  unique  superstructure  of  felt.  We  can  readily  con- 
ceive the  enthusiasm  with  which  this  glorious  creation  was  said 
to  have  been  regarded  by  his  Montagnard  followers,  from  the 
effect  which  it  had  upon  ourselves.  It  was  a  feeling  somewhat 
analogous  to  that  which  Belzoni  must  have  experienced  on  be- 
holding the  head  of  his  first  sphinx,  or  Layard  that  of  his  winged 
bull.  We  no  longer  wondered  that  the  physical  development  in- 
dicated by  such  colossal  proportions  should  have  struck  such  terror 


HATS. 


187 


into  the  multitude,  or  that  it  should  have  sated  its  ambition  only 
in  the  chair  of  the  Prefect  of  Police.  If  the  statue  of  Caussidiere 
be  worthy  of  a  niche  in  the  Temple  of  Fame,  surely  that  of  the 
hatter,  who  helped  to  build  him  into  greatness,  is  deserving  of 
some  slight  insciiption  on  its  pedestal. 

Passing  fvom  great  things  to  smell,  but  still  consistently  adher- 
ing to  revolutionary  models,  we  will  next  examine  that  smart- 
looking  little  tuyau  cle  jpoele.  inscribed  with  the  name  of  Felix 
Pyat,  orator  and  writer,  known  to  us  only  by  some  trifling  efforts. 
The  hat  and  the  reputation  seem  to  have  a  sort  of  natural  rela- 
tion to  each  other.  It  is  not  a  hat  like  that  of  Caussidiere,  which 
is  destined  to  leave  its  impress  upon  the  age,  and,  therefore,  we 
will  not  waste  our  time  before  it. 

We  now  come  to  that  well-known  beaver,  the  admiration  of 
aristocratic  belles,  and  the  envy  of  aristocratic  beaux,  which  so 
long  formed  the  capital  of  that  Corinthian  pillar  of  European 
dandyism,  Count  D'Orsay.  Y/ith  what  inimitable  grace  have  we 
seen  that  hat  manoeuvred  by  its  handsome  wearer,  as  he  cara- 
coled his  beautiful  Arabian  through  the  complexities  of  the  ring 
in  Hyde-Park,  thronged  as  it  was  with  carriages  filled  with  the 
smiling  and  approving  beauties  of  Belgravia.  With  what  feel- 
ings of  pride  and  exultation  have  we  seen  a  certain  literary 
Peeress  watch  the  evolutions  of  her  accomplished  cavalier,  as  he 
pranced  by  the  side  of  her  splendid  equipage,  exchanging  grace- 
ful salutations  with  the  fair  daughters  of  the  nobility,  or  bestow- 
ing a  friendly  nod  of  recognition  on  some  humble  pedestrian  on 
the  foot-path,  whose  only  claim  to  his  notice  was  the  possession 
of  some  literary  or  artistic  talent.  And,  with  Count  D'Orsay,  no 
title  was  paramount  to  this.  With  generous  sympathies,  and  an 
enlarged  and  cultivated  mind>  he  knew  how  to  reconcile  the  con- 
ventional trammels  which  his  high  position  imposed  upon  him 
with  the  warm  interest  which  he  felt  in  the  unrewarded  strug- 
gles of  genius.  In  him,  the  artist  and  the  man  of  letters  found 
not  only  a  sincere  friend,  but  a  munificent  patron,  ever  ready  to 
make  sacrifices  of  his  time  and  his  purse  to  the  calls  which  his 
well-deserved  reputation  entailed  upon  him.  With  the  multitude, 
to  whom  he  was  known  only  by  his  exquisite  taste  for  dress,  he 
passed  only  for  a  fit  successor  to  that  selfish  and  cynical  beau  who 


188 


THE  GREAT  EXHIBITION. 


had  enslaved  the  tastes  and  perverted  the  hearts  of  the  previous 
generation.  In  the  circles  in  which  he  moved,  however,  and 
more  especially  amid  that  large  class  of  scientific  and  artistic 
minds,  which  may  be  said  to  comprehend  the  real  intelligence 
and  society  of  the  English  metropolis,  he  was  valued  as  much  for 
his  mental  acquirements  as  for  his  noble  and  generous  impulses. 
A  writer,  painter,  and  sculptor,  himself,  he  was  recognized  and 
received  in  that  brotherhood  of  the  arts  as  one  of  the  most  suc- 
cessful of  their  votaries.  When  we  consider  the  time  that  he 
frittered  away  in  the  frivolous  pursuits  of  fashionable  life,  we  can- 
not help  admiring  the  industry  which  he  must  have  practiced  to 
keep  pace  with  the  inspirations  of  his  genius.  With  more  moral 
worth  than  the  celebrated  Villiers,  Duke  of  Buckingham,  he  re- 
sembled him  in  the  versatility  of  his  arguments,  and  in  the  facility 
with  which  he  could  pass  from  the  most  serious  occupations  to 
the  persiflage  of  the  dinner-table  or  ball-room.  A  close  student, 
and  an  indefatigable  artist,  he  would  always  bring  into  society  a 
mind  unclouded  by  severe  application,  and  sparkling  with  the 
suggestions  of  a  refined  wit  and  lively  imagination.  No  man 
could  be  more  brilliant  or  enjoue  in  female  society  ;  none  could 
be  more  serious  and  interested  in  that  of  the  learned  circles  in 
which  he  frequently  mixed.  Like  la  Rochefoucauld,  he  appeared 
to  owe  his  extraordinary  quickness  of  perception  and  knowledge 
of  character  rather  to  a  gift  of  nature  than  to  the  results  of  ob- 
servation and  study.  Had  he  been  divested  of  those  advantages 
of  fortune  and  position,  which  in  the  early  part  of  his  career 
served  to  relax  his  energies,  and  to  take  from  him  all  motives  for 
exertion,  he  must  have  risen  to  an  eminence  that  would  have 
thrown  these  adventitious  circumstances  into  the  shade,  and 
secured  him  an  enduring  reputation.  As  it  was,  the  latter  years 
of  his  life  manifested  a  consciousness  that  his  time  had  been  mis- 
spent, and  that  he  was  capable  of  achieving  a  higher  destiny  than 
he  had  hitherto  attained.  He  began  to  withdraw  himself  grad- 
ually from  the  seductive  influences  of  the  society  which  had  pos- 
sessed such  a  charm  for  his  youth,  and  to  devote  himself  assidu- 
ously to  those  more  serious  and  ennobling  pursuits  to  which  the 
philosophical  constitution  of  his  mind  naturally  inclined  him. 
His  end,  painful  and  melancholy  as  it  was,  was  still  consistent 


HATS. 


189 


with  those  lofty  qualities  which  redeemed  the  few  serious  blem- 
ishes of  his  character.  While  we  can  afford  to  pass  over  in 
charitable  silence  the  one,  it  gratifies  our  feelings  to  render  justice 
to  the  other ;  and,  as  we  look  upon  this  memento  of  his  follies, 
disinterred  from  oblivion  by  the  enterprise  of  an  aspiring  hatter, 
we  cannot  help  exclaiming  with  the  sorrowing  Dane,  "  Alas  ! 
poor  Yorick  !" 

A  short  time  since,  there  was  some  talk  of  a  patent  having 
been  solicited  for  a  curious  application  of  the  Daguerreotype,  the 
idea  of  which  seems  to  have  been  borrowed  from  the  Egyptian 
custom  of  delineating  the  features  of  the  dead  on  the  cere-cloth 
which  encased  the  mummy.  It  was  proposed  by  the  inventor  to 
affix  Daguerreotype  likenesses  of  deceased  persons  to  the  lids  of 
the  coffins,  but  the  undertakers  seem  to  have  anticipated  the 
notion  by  a  simple  contrivance — namely,  that  of  inserting  a  glass 
window  over  the  face  of  the  corpse,  and  thus  exposing  the  fea- 
tures themselves  to  view.  The  ingenious  hatters  of  our  city  could 
not  fail  to  profit  by  the  suggestion  thus  thrown  out ;  and  accord- 
ingly Messrs.  RafTerty  &  Leask,  of  Chatham-street,  have  hastened 
to  present  the  Exhibition  with  a  case  of  hats,  whose  chief  attrac- 
tion seems  to  be  the  insertion  of  a  Daguerreotype  likeness  of  the 
wrearer  in  the  lining  of  the  crown.  It  is  scarcely  necessary  for  us 
to  point  out  the  manifold  advantages  and  uses  of  this  interesting 
novelty.  Beside  the  gratification  which  it  must  afford  our  self- 
esteem  to  contemplate  at  will  features  so  dear  to  us,  we  shall  no 
longer  be  exposed  to  the  risk  of  being  the  victims  of  those  con- 
fused notions  of  meum  and  tuum  which  seem  to  prevail  among 
diners-out  and  ball-goers  on  the  subject  of  hats  and  umbrellas. 
The  least  favored  by  Nature  will  be  the  most  likely  to  be  bene- 
fited by  this  arrangement ;  inasmuch  as,  however  convenient  a 
difficulty  of  identification  in  the  property  of  the  hat  may  be  at 
present  to  certain  smart  young  fellows,  it  would  never  do  to  have 
any  doubt  existing  as  to  the  identity  of  the  portrait.  True,  the 
security  thus  obtained,  as  regards  one  sex,  will  be  in  some  degree 
counterbalanced  by  an  obvious  danger  arising  from  the  other.  We 
are  afraid  that  the  innovation  will  create  a  new  species  of  petty 
larceny  which  our  laws  will  be  unable  to  reach,  as  no  owner  of 
the  article  abstracted  will  be  inclined  to  prefer  an  indictment 


190 


THE  GREAT  EXHIBITION. 


against  the  offender.  Even  this  evil,  however,  will  be  attended 
with  its  advantages ;  as  ladies  will  now  be  unable  to  possess 
themselves  of  these  "  counterfeits"  of  the  objects  of  their  desires 
without  compromising  themselves  in  their  eyes  by  asking  for  them. 
To  persons  who  dislike  being  disturbed  by  troublesome  visitors,  the 
benefit  arising  from  the  new  system  will  be  incalculable.  By  an 
inspection  of  the  hats  in  our  hall,  we  can  at  once  determine 
whether  it  would  be  either  agreeable  or  convenient  for  us  to  make 
our  appearance  in  the  parlor.  If  our  space  permitted  it,  we 
might  cite  a  hundred  other  instances  to  prove  that  this  invention 
entitles  Messrs.  ItafFerty  &  Leask  to  rank  among  the  benefactors 
of  humanity. 

What  elaborate  inscription  is  that  which  we  see  crowding  the 
base  of  that  tall  show-case,  which  bears  on  its  summit  the 
triumphal  flourish,  Leary  &  Co.,  Leaders  "  and  introducers  of 
Fashions  for  Gentlemen's  Hats?"  A  bold  preface  that!  But, 
after  all,  there  is  nothing  like  being  one's  own  trumpeter.  None 
but  fools  will,  in  this  age  of  smartness  and  progress,  be  content  to 
await  the  verdict  of  a  dull  and  undiscerning  public.  Man  must 
now  clear  at  a  bound  the  path  to  Fame — that  difficult  and  thorny 
steep,  which  used  to  cost  so  much  toil  and  patience  to  ascend,  or 
he  will  be  left  behind  like  a  miserable  laggard,  to  plod  on  and 
sweat  and  die  in  his  harness.  There  is  no  danger  that  your  mo- 
desty will  keep  you  back  in.  the  race,  Messrs.  Leary  !  You  com- 
prehend the  spirit  of  ^he  age  ;  and  you  seem  determined  not  only 
to  be  on  a  level  with  it,  but  to  rise  above  it.  Let  us  now  look 
at  the  inscription  :  "  These  hats  are  entered  for  exhibition  and 
"  competition,  and  are  samples  of  our  manufactures  in  silk  and 
"  fur.  "We  have  affixed  to  each  the  price  for  which  duplicates 
"  are  daily  sold  at  our  counters,  in  their  appropriate  season.  De- 
"  precating  the  use  of  material  whose  only  claim  to  notice  is  its 
"  excessive  cost,  we  have  confined  ourselves  strictly  to  that  hourly 
"  used  in  our  make-shops,  combining  a  standard  of  excellence  in 
"  their  production,  workmanship,  utility,  cheapness,  and  adapta- 
"  tion  to  home  markets,  together  with  beauty  of  design  and  other 
"  elements  of  merit,  commending  them  to  public  notice  and  pa- 
"  tronage."  The  pen  of  criticism  falls  powerless  from  our  grasp 
before  this  Io  Pean  of  self-glorification.    It  puts  an  extinguisher 


HATS. 


191 


upon  genius  and  knocks  Phalon  into  a  cocked  hat  (excuse  the 
vulgarism — the  simile  is  in  place).  These  munificent  patrons  of 
the  penny-a-liner  and  hill-sticker  have  had  the  good  taste  to  leave 
their  hroad  sheets  and  paste-pots  at  the  door  of  the  Exhibition, 
contenting  themselves  with  the  laconic  but  significant  circum- 
spice  of  Sir  Christopher  Wren.  In  the  greatness  of  their  works 
they  hope  to  live.  Not  so  the  Messrs.  Leary.  "  Leaders  and  in- 
troducers of  fashion,"  they  have  thriven  so  long  on  the  mutability 
of  human  taste  that  they  evidently  fear  it  will  turn  round  upon 
them  and  play  them  some  slippery  trick  at  last.  Summoned  into 
a  new  arena  of  competition,  they  enter  the  ring  with  doubts  and 
misgivings,  which  they  endeavor  to  drown  in  a  flourish  of  trum- 
pets and  a  proclamation  of  their  past  achievements.  It  won't  do, 
gentlemen  !  This  is  to  be  a  fair,  stand-up  fight,  with  a  clear 
field  and  no  favor.  We  care  nothing  about  your  antecedents. 
The  best  man  here  is  he  that  can  prove  his  skill ! 

We  believe  that  we  have  now  touched  upon  all  the  salient 
points  of  this  feature  of  the  Exhibition.  We  have  not  attempted 
to  enter  into  a  comparison  of  the  qualities  of  the  productions  of  the 
different  houses,  for  the  simple  reason  that  we  should  only  get 
laughed  at  for  our  pains.  With  an  article  tha,t  can  only  be 
judged  of  by  the  touch,  and  that  accurately,  only  by  a  person  in 
the  trade,  it  would  not  orly  be  absurd,  but  unjust,  toward  the 
manufacturers,  were  we  to  pretend  to  ciiticise  them  through  the 
plates  of  the  jealously  locked  glass-cases  ia  which  they  are  ex- 
posed. 

There  are  twenty-two  exhibitors  of  hats  and  caps  from  different 
parts  of  the  Union.  The  New- York  contributors  are  Messrs. 
Beebe,  Genin,  Leary,  Wamock,  Knox  &  James,  ArrJdon,  Espen- 
scheid,  Kellogg,  Alles,  Freeman,  Small  &  Co.,  Eafferty  &  Leask, 
Beaudin,  Mealio,  Tcdd,  Cowly,  Baker,  Vesnock,  and  Grosset  &s 
Degan. 

The  display  of  military  hats  and  regulation  caps  is  very  credit- 
able to  the  makers  who  have  devoted  themselves  to  tills  depart- 
ment of  the  business.  Beaudin  has  a  regulation  hat  mounted  on 
a  spring,  which  reduces  it  when  pressed  down  to  about  half  its 
height — a  great  convenience  in  a  theatre  or  concert-room,  but 


192 


THE  GREAT  EXHIBITION. 


scarcely  advisable,  we  should  think,  when  blows  are  more  plenti- 
ful than  compliments. 

The  fashions  for  hats  are  not,  as  is  generally  supposed,  imported, 
but  are  got  up  by  the  leading  houses,  such  as  Beebe's,  Leary's, 
Genin's  and  Knox's,  with  of  course  some  slight  reference  to  the 
styles  prevailing  in  Paris.  There  is  no  article,  perhaps,  in  which 
so  much  deception  can  be  practised  as  in  the  hat,  owing  to  the 
difficulty  which  the  uninitiated  find  in  applying  any  test  to  its 
qualities  but  that  of  wear.  As  a  proof  of  this,  we  may  mention 
that  the  Jews  are  in  the  habit  of  selling  hats  that  only  cost  them 
twelve  shillings  for  $3  and  $5  each. 

In  addition  to  the  statistics  of  the  trade  already  given,  we  may 
state  that  the  number  of  body-makers  in  New- York  is  almost 
three  hundred  ;  of  finishers  one  hundred  ;  of  curlers  and  shapers 
two  hundred  ;  and  of  trimmers  four  hundred.  There  is  no  branch 
of  industry  in  which  the  rates  of  wages  are  so  fluctuating ;  no 
trade  reflecting  so  faithfully  the  depressed  or  prosperous  condition 
of  the  country.  The  journeymen  generally  work  by  the  piece. 
Body-makers,  although  they  only  earn  six  dollars  some  weeks, 
can  in  others  make  as  much  as  thirty.  Finishers  make  from  ten 
to  twenty,  and  shapers  and  curlers  from  fifteen  to  thirty  dollars  a 
week.  There  are  between  fifty  and  sixty  finishing-shops  in  New- 
York.  There  is  no  general  understanding  between  the  shops  as 
to  a  fixed  scale  of  wages,  each  establishment  regulating  its  own 
scale  of  payment.  It  is  a  peculiarity  of  this  trade  that  a  person 
seeking  employment  never  addresses  himself  to  the  principal  ;  he 
goes  direct  to  the  foreman,  and  if  there  is  room  for  him,  if  he  be- 
longs to  the  Association,  he  is  immediately  engaged.  The  rules 
of  the  body  are  very  stringent ;  but  some  of  the  manufacturer? 
such,  for  instance,  as  Genin,  have  broken  through  them,  and  con- 
tinue to  carry  on  their  trade  successfully  in  despite  of  the  efforts 
made  to  deprive  them  of  their  hands. 


FLAX  AND  ITS  MANUFACTURES. 


193 


XIX. 

FLAX   AND   ITS  MANUFACTURES. 

Above  three  thousand  years  ago,  when  all  Europe  was  envel- 
oped in  Cimmerian  darkness,  the  manufactures  of  the  fine  linen 
of  Egypt  were  imported  into  that  Continent.  By  a  curious 
reverse,  a  country  the  least  advanced  toward  the  comforts  of 
civilization,  now  sends  its  fine  linens  to  all  corners  of  the  globe. 
If  there  be  any  one  manufacture  in  which  Ireland  is  able  to 
come  into  the  market  of  the  world  without  fear  of  competition, 
it  is  in  the  growth  and  manufacture  of  Flax.  Its  introduction 
into  that  island  forms  an  apt  illustration  of  the  manner  in  which 
it  has  been  governed.  It  was  once  said  of  the  people  of  Hali- 
fax, England,  who  lived  then,  as  now,  by  the  manufacture  of 
Woolens,  that  they  had  an  inordinate  estimate  of  themselves 
and  their  produce,  and  that  if  they  were  asked  what  was  the 
greatest  crime  which  a  man  could  commit,  and  whether  was  it 
treason  or  parricide  1  their  ready  answer  would  be,  neither  of 
those,  but  the  importation  of  Wool.  The  whole  people  of 
England  must  have  been  of  this  opinion  in  the  reign  of  William 
III.,  when  Ireland  had,  from  the  peculiar  advantages  which  her 
climate  gives  her,  increased  the  number  of  her  sheep,  and  the 
quality  of  their  wool  to  such  an  extent,  that  she  could  undersell 
the  English  in  their  own  markets.  A  deputation  of  growers 
and  manufacturers  of  wool  waited  on  the  monarch,  and  laid  at 
his  feet  their  complaint,  that  they  could  not  grow  wool  against 
Ireland.  The  answer  was  short  and  to  the  point :  "  Gentlemen, 
I  will  speedily  remedy  all  that and,  when  Parliament  met,  a 
heavy  duty  was  laid  on  all  wool  and  woolens  from  Ireland. 
This  was  a  severe  blow  to  the  prosperity  of  the  sister  isle,  and 
ultimately  changed  her  industry  from  the  growth  of  Wool,  for 
which  she  is  peculiarly  favored  by  nature,  to  that  of  Flax, 
whose  growth  is  the  result  of  excessive  labor. 

0 


194 


THE  GREAT  EXHIBITION". 


Deprived  of  the  woolen  trade  by  the  edict  of  1G95,  Irish 
industry  had  no  other  vent  than  in  the  cultivation  of  Flax,  a 
plant  which  had  been  introduced,  half  a  century  before,  by  Lord 
Strafford,  then  Lord  Deputy,  who  ruled  the  country  with  that 
tyranny  which  ultimately  brought  his  head  to  the  block,  and 
who  boasted  of  his  rule,  "  that  he  made  the  King  as  absolute  in 
Ireland  as  any  prince  in  the  whole  world  could  be."  The  flax- 
plant  has  now  been  cultivated  in  Ireland  two  hundred  and  twenty 
years,  and  is  still  on  the  increase.  Having  heretofore  been  con- 
fined to  the  northern  province  of  the  island,  it  has,  since  1S49, 
been  extended  south  and  west.  It  will  grow  on  any  soil,  but 
requires  high  manuring,  and  in  good  soil  the  yield  is  more 
abundant.  As  to  most  plants,  the  presence  of  lime  in  the 
ground,  stimulates  their  growth.  Such  is  the  case  with  mad- 
der and  all  the  cereal  grains;  but  the  flax-plant,  on  the  con- 
trary, is  injured  by  that  mineral,  and  should  the  ground  be 
fresh-limed,  the  growth  of  flax  will  have  to  be  omitted  for  a 
rotation. 

The  Scotchman  sings  that  "  Corn  rigs  are  bonny,"  but  a  plea- 
santer  sight  the  eye  scarcely  lights  upon  than  an  extensive  field 
of  flax  fully  grown  and  in  flower.  The  graceful  green  stem, 
lanceolate  leaves  and  convolvulus-like  blue  flower,  present  a 
graceful  contrast.  It  is  gathered  when  in  seed,  and  thus  a 
double  crop  is  raised  off  the  one  plant,  viz.,  the  flax-seed  or  lin 
seed  and  the  fibre  from  the  stem.  This,  however,  is  bad  prac- 
tice ;  one  or  the  other  ought  to  be  sacrificed ;  and  it  is  so  by 
those  who  raise  a  fine  article ;  for  the  younger  the  plant,  the 
more  delicate  are  the  spiral  vessels  which  constitute  the  flax 
fibre.  Hence  the  practice  of  sowing  thick,  by  which  the  plant 
shoots  up  and  forms  but  little  wood,  and  the  advantage  of  high 
manuring,  which  starts  the  plant  forward  very  rapidly.  Culti- 
vated thus  for  the  fibre,  and  not  for  the  seed,  it  is  a  profitable 
crop.  There  are  in  Ireland  one  hundred  and  twenty-five  thou- 
sand acres  under  flax,  and  the  produce  is  about  thirty-seven 
thousand  five  hundred  tons,  of  an  average  value  of  two  hundred 
and  fifty  dollars  per  ton  ;  this  gives  about  sixty-two  dollars  for 
the  usual  produce  of  the  statute  acre.  The  value  of  the  crop 
depends  entirely  on  the  care  taken  of  the  fibre. 


FLAX  AND  ITS  MANUFACTURES. 


195 


Flax  employs  a  number  of  hands  in  its  manufacture.  Thus 
three  acres,  properly  managed,  will  produce  one  hundred  and 
twenty  stone,  (fourteen  pounds  each,)  which  will  realize  to  the 
fanner  four  hundred  and  fifty  dollars.  Suppose  it  is  to  be  con- 
verted into  cambric  pocket-handkerchiefs,  it  may  be  spun  to 
thirty  hanks  to  the  pound,  and  is  usually  spun  by  hand.  This 
will  employ  one  hundred  and  fifty-eight  women  for  twelve 
months  to  spin  it.  Eighteen  weavers  are  occupied  in  weaving 
it,  and  forty  women  in  hem-stitching,  or  veining  it,  when  made 
into  kerchiefs  ;  thus  annually  employing  two  hundred  and  ten 
persons,  producing  two  hundred  and  ten  webs  of  cambric,  each 
containing  five  dozen  handkerchiefs,  each  dozen  worth  twelve 
dollars ;  and  the  entire,  when  finished,  thirteen  thousand  dol- 
lars. Were  it  not  for  this  extreme  profit,  flax  would  not  be 
grown,  for  it  is  one  of  the  most  exhausting  of  crops. 

To  separate  the  fibre  from  the  flax,  the  plant  has  to  undergo 
several  processes.  Pulled  before  the  seeds  are  ripe,  the  latter 
are  separated  by  rippling,  or  pulling  the  head  of  the  plant 
through  an  iron  comb.  The  stem  is  then  steeped,  to  soften  and 
separate  the  fibres  easily,  and  to  dissolve  a  gummy  resin, 
whieh  pastes  the  fibre  to  the  bark.  The  introduction  of  Mr. 
Schenck's  process  (of  this  city)  into  Ireland  was  a  great  aid  in 
facilitating  the  separation  of  the  fibre.  The  plant  is  then  bruised 
or  broken  by  beating  it  with  machinery.*  It  is  then  passed 
through  a  mill  with  fluted  cylinders,  three  in  number,  one  of 
which  is  moved  by  power,  and  the  others  moved  by  it.  This  is 
termed  scutching.  By  the  two  last  processes,  the  fibre  is 
wholly  freed  from  the  woody  portion  of  the  plant.  In  this 
state  it  is  transferred  to  the  mills,  to  be  spun  into  thread  for 
the  seamstress  and  lace-maker,  or  into  yarn  for  the  weaver. 
Here,  after  being  sorted,  it  is  heckled,  or  combed  by  hand  or 
machinery,  until  the  fibres  are  all  parallel  and  continuous,  and 
the  whole  cleared  from  adhering  matters.  It  is  then  again 
sorted,  and  afterward  drawn  into  one  sliver  or  band.  This  con- 
sists in  twisting  the  fibres,  which' are  about  ten  inches  long,  at 
the  end,  by  which  a  continuous  band  or  rope  is  obtained.  The 
refuse  of  the  heckling  is  tow.  With  this  description  in  view, 
the  samples  of  raw  material  in  progress  of  manufacture,  shown 


196 


THE  GREAT  EXHIBITION. 


in  Fen  ton,  Son  &  Co.'s  collection,  will  be  one  of  the  interesting 
features  of  the  Exhibition. 

When  the  yarn  i^  spun,  the  flax  manufacture  terminates  and 
that  of  linen  commences.  Although  it  is  but  recently  that  ma- 
chinery has  been  applied  to  the  weaving  of  flax,  yet  the  largest 
factories  in  the  world  are  occupied  with  this  art.  Marshall's, 
of  Leeds,  stands  foremost,  whose  one-story  factory  covers  two 
acres  of  ground,  and  had  the  largest  room  in  the  world  until 
Crystal  Palaces  were  raised.  Eichardson's  at  Guilford,  Fen- 
ton's  at  Belfast,  and  the  Mulholland's  at  the  latter  place,  are 
also  noteworthy.  The  goods  of  this  last  manufacture,  and  those 
of  Marshall,  Young  &  Lindsay,  are  missed  from  the  British 
collection.  Indeed,  the  Irish  collection  is  very  imperfect,  and 
in  no  degree  represents  the  industry  of  that  country.  This  is 
chiefly  due  to  the  manufacturers  not  being  able  to  learn  clearly 
whether  this  Exhibition  was  a  private  or  national  affair;  and, 
if  the  former,  how  far  it  would  subserve  their  interests  to  exhi- 
bit— an(l  perhaps  due  in  a  small  extent  to  the  Dublin  Exhibi- 
tion, which  has  occupied  their  attention. 

The  collection  of  Fenton,  Son  &  Co.,  is  chiefly  in  heavy  linens, 
or  those  in  which  the  yarn  fibre  is  strong  and  thick.  This  is  a 
class  of  goods,  we  believe,  not  extensively  known  in  this  coun- 
try. A  prize  medal  was  obtained  by  this  firm  from  the  Lon- 
don Exhibition.  There  is  also  a  fair  collection  of  damasks  and 
fine  light  linen,  and  an  assortment  of  cambrics.  In  the  same 
compartment  is  the  collection  of  Richardson,  who  has  two  fac- 
tories in  the  north  of  Ireland.  The  linens  exhibited  by  this 
house  are  of  the  fine  or  light  class,  for  which  a  prize  medal  was 
obtained.  These  light  goods  are  exceedingly  fine,  and  are  well 
worth  the  inspection  of  importers  and  buyers.  These  linens 
are  all  grass-bleached,  and  the  flax  was  rotted  by  the  usual  cold 
water  process,  and,  whatever  objection  there  may  be  in  point  of 
time,  certainly  no  chemical  treatment  of  the  fibre  could  produce 
a  more  beautiful  yarn  than  is  in  Eichardson's  goods. 

Among  damask  goods,  Eichardson's  table-cloths  are  gems  in 
their  way.  One  of  these,  measuring  six  yards  by  three  and  a 
half,  is  the  most  beautiful  cloth  our  eyes,  accustomed  as  they 
have  been  to  linen  goods,  have  ever  seen.    The  damasking  re- 


FLAX  AND  ITS  MANUFACTURES. 


197 


presents  a  tesselated  centre,  with  vases  resting  on  agricultural 
implements  and  surmounted  by  flowers  ;  urns  are  at  the  cor- 
ners, surrounded  by  wreaths,  and  the  whole  is  bordered  to  the 
depth  of  two  and  a  quarter  feet,  with  intertwined  shamrock, 
rose,  and  thistle,  and  inclosing  the  antique  Irish  emblems,  the 
harp  and  wolf  dog.  This  cloth  was  exhibited  in  the  London 
Palace  in  an  unbleached  state,  and  has  been  bleached  for  exhi- 
bition here.  A  second  table-cloth  is  also  exhibited,  which  is 
seven  and  a  half  yards  by  two  and  a  half.  The  linen  in  these 
cloths  is  very  fine.  The  cases  exhibited  by  Richardson  contain 
light  sheetings,  housewife  linen,  fronting  linen,  and  damask 
cloth.  The-play  of  light  in  the  lower  part  of  the  building  inter- 
feres very  much  with  the  favorable  exhibition  of  worked  and 
fancy  goods;  instead  of  coming  in  one  direction  upon  the  arti- 
cles, it  breaks  in  on  all  sides,  and  produces  lights  and  shadows 
independent  of  the  work  upon  the  goods.  That  part  of  the 
building  which  is  darkened  by  the  Reservoir  would  have  been 
most  appropriate  for  this  class  of  articles. 

The  third  collection  of  linens,  is  that  of  Dunbar,  McMaster 
&  Co.,  and  Dunbar,  Dickson  &  Co.,  under  one  head.  This  is 
a  joint  firm,  with  two  manufactories,  in  one  of  which  the  flax  as 
pulled  is  rotted  and  put  through  all  the  processes  to  convert  it 
into  thread  and  yarn,  and  then  the  latter  is  handed  over  to  the 
second  factory,  where  it  is  woven  into  linens,  cambric,  diaper, 
and  damasks.  The  establishment  thus  takes  the  raw  material 
from  the  farmer,  and  when  it  leaves  the  factories,  it  is  the  arti- 
cle ready  for  sale.  This  is  unusual  ;  generally,  a  manufacturer 
of  flax  goods  is  only  so  to  a  limited  extent.  Some  take  the 
raw  flax  and  convert  it  into  yarn,  and  then  stop.  Some  take 
the  yarn  and  weave  it,  and,  when  woven,  bleach  it;  and  some 
only  take  the  unbleached  woven  cloth,  bleach  and  calender  it ; 
but  in  Dunbar  &  Co.'s  establishment  all  the  departments  are 
'combined.  It  is  necessarily  a  very  large  one,  both  in  occupa- 
tion of  space  and  employment  of  individuals.  There  are  three 
thousand  people  employed  in  both  factories,  and  five  thousand 
extra  hands  are  out-doors  ;  that  is,  employment  of  the  latter 
number  is  given  to  cottiers  round  about  in  the  weaving  and 
finishing  of  the  cloth  ;  thus  eight  thousand  people  are  depend- 


198 


THE  GREAT  EXHIBITION. 


ent  on  this  firm  for  support.  The  factory  law  of  Ireland  pre- 
vents children  under  the  age  of  thirteen  being  employed  with 
advantage,  and  schools  are  provided  on  the  ground  for  the  edu- 
cation of  children  up  to  that  age,  when  they  are  taken  into 
the  factory  to  work  ;  and  adult  schools  are  also  in  operation  in 
winter  evenings  for  the  benefit  of  those  more  advanced.  The 
wages  paid  by  the  firm  amount  to  $300,000  per  annum. 

The  collection  of  linen  thread  is  very  good,  of  assorted  de- 
grees of  fineness  and  of  all  colors.  Some  of  the  samples  are  of 
remarkable  fineness,  eighty  thousand  yards  being  spun  out  of 
one  pound.  This  is  equal  to  forty-eight  miles  of  linen  thread 
spun  out  of  one  pound  weight !  Among  Dickson's  threads  is 
one  variety  adapted  for  our  sewing-machines,  which  are  almost 
of  an  unlimited  length,  varying  according  to  the  number  of 
the  thread.  Ordinary  thread  is  unsuitable  to  sewing-machines, 
owing  to  the  necessity  of  frequent  junctions.  The  lengths  of 
these  are  their  recommendation,  averaging  eight  thousand  yards 
in  one  pound,  or  two  thousand  yards  in  a  skein  of  continuous 
length,  which  weighs  a  quarter  of  a  pound. 

The  sheetings  exhibited  by  Dickson  are  of  great  dimensions, 
being  thirteen  quarters  wide  and  without  seam,-  of  the  class 
termed  extra  strong.  Indeed,  the  collection  of  heavy  linens  by 
this  firm  is  very  fine — to  which  recommendation  may  be  added 
the  samples  of  bleached  and  unbleached  family  and  fronting 
linens. 

Among  the  products  of  Irish  manufacture  is  the  article  pop- 
lin or  tabbinet,  of  which  there  is  a  case  exhibited  by  Messrs. 
Pirn  &  Co.,  of  Dublin.  Poplin  is  a  material  whose  weft  is 
worsted  and  the  warp  silk.  It  is  a  fabric  of  great  beauty,  whose 
manufacture  is  confined  almost  exclusively  to  Dublin.  In  this 
department  we  miss  the  articles  of  Messrs.  Fry  &  Atkinson, 
who  manufacture  more  extensively  than  Pirn.  This  exhibition, 
however,  is  a  very  fine  one,  embracing  plain  and  watered  double 
poplins,  figured  samples  for  dress  and  vestings,  and  poplin  tar- 
tans, after  the  pattern  of  the  different  clans.  There  is  a  speci- 
men of  rich  brocaded  tissue  poplin,  which  we  recommend  to  the 
inspection  of  those  ladies  who  delight  in  fine  dress.  The  bril- 
liant  hue  of  the  roses  upon  this  cloth  produces  a  beautiful  effect. 


FLAX  AND  ITS  MANUFACTURES. 


199 


The  exposition  of  Irish  lace  by  Higgins  &  Co.  is  beautiful  in 
the  extreme  :  lace,  as  the  term  implies,  is  a  network  of  threads; 
it  may  be  woven  by  hand  or  machine.  When  the  thread  is 
silk,  it  is  silk  net;  when  cotton,  it  is  bobbin-net,  and  when  of 
flax,  it  is  the  real  lace  of  the  last  three  centuries.  The  manu- 
facture of  lace  by  hand  is  one  of  the  most  tedious  and  least  re- 
munerating that  woman  ever  engaged  in,  and  the  bobbin-net 
machine,  one  of  the  most  complicated  that  man  ever  devised. 
Specimens  of  both  are  exhibited  by  Higgins.  In  the  same  case 
is  also  the  skirt  of  a  dress,  worked  with  the  needle.  It  is  what 
is  called  Limerick  lace,  and  is  worth  $400.  The  lace  worked 
in  Limerick  is  esteemed  the  best  in  the  British  Empire,  ranking 
above  that  of  Nottingham. 

This  notice  comprises  the  Irish  exposition  of  textile  fabrics, 
unique  and  superior  in  their  kind.  We  have  not  seen  any  Bel- 
gian linens  on  exhibition.  Samples  of  the  flax  plant,  in  the  va- 
rious changes  which  it  passes  through  until  it  is  yarn,  may  be 
seen  in  Fenton's  collection,  alluded  to  above,  and  in  a  depart- 
ment near  the  south  nave. 

We  miss  from  this  Exhibition  the  flax  cotton,  flax  velvet,  flax 
flannel,  and  the  other  novelties  of  this  manufacture,  which  have 
been  brought  into  notice  by  Chevalier  Claussen,  of  Brazil,  and 
which  adorned  the  London  Exhibition. 

The  question  of  flax  culture  and  manufacture  in  this  country, 
is  one  which  might  now  occupy  the  minds  of  business  men. 
The  price  of  Irish  linens  has  gone  up  ten  per  cent.,  owing  to  the 
increased  value  of  labor  in  that  island.  This  increase  will  be 
permanent,  at  least  for  some  years;  and  although  farmers  may 
not  find  it  profitable  to  grow  flax  for  the  sake  of  the  seed  as 
now,  yet  when  both  bolls  and  fibre  are  in  demand,  the  crop 
pays  well. 


200 


THE  GREAT  EXHIBITION. 


XX. 

WOOL  AND  WOOLLEN  MANUFACTURES. 

Ever  since  those  good  old  times  of  patriarchal  simplicity,  when 
it  is  said 

When  Adam  delved  and  Eve  span — 

when  Man  cultivated  the  soil  and  guarded  his  flocks,  and  Woman, 
with  all  her  solicitude  for  the  comfort  of  her  consort,  formed  the 
first  rude  fabrics  from  the  fleecy  material  so  abundantly  supplied 
by  her  petted  companions,  and  when  the  wealth  of  a  family  was 
calculated  according  to  the  extent  of  its  herds  and  its  flocks, 
until  the  present  time,  the  growth  of  wool  and  the  production 
and  improvement  of  cloth  of  various  textures,  have  constituted 
one  of  the  most  important  branches  of  ingenious  pursuit  and 
manufacturing  enterprise.  To  compare  the  first  results  of  spin- 
ning, weaving  and  knitting  with  what  is  now  produced  by  the 
combination  of  skill  and  experience  which  so  many  ages  have 
afforded,  and  to  trace  the  progress  of  the  manufacturing  art  from 
its  earliest  to  its  latest  periods,  would  be  both  interesting  and  in- 
structive ;  but  in  this  country,  where  "  onward"  is  the  exhilarat- 
ing word  which  inspires  the  actors  in  all  departments  of  pro- 
ductive invention,  we  need  only  look  so  far  backward  as  to  find 
that  which  will  add  encouragement  and  force  to  our  wish,  that 
the  progress  of  our  country  should  be  aided  by  past  experience 
and  based  upon  the  rational  deductions  of  scientific  investigation. 

The  United  States,  in  the  space  of  a  single  century,  furnish  as 
great  a  diversity  in  the  articles  of  dress,  beginning  with  domes- 
tic spinning  and  weaving,  and  contrasting  the  result  with  the 
present  productions  of  machinery,  as  can  be  found  in  exploring  a 
thousand  years  of  old-country  practice  and  experience.  Many  of 
the  early  settlers  of  America  necessarily  commenced  the  world 
anew,  and  some  of  the  most  ancient  customs,  which  had  long 
been  superseded  in  Europe,  were  here  resorted  to  as  the  first 


WOOL  AND  WOOLLEN  MANUFACTURES. 


201 


alternatives,  while  the  various  stages  of  progress,  which  other 
countries  had  taken  many  ages  to  pass  through,  have  teen  coixm 
pressed  into  a  few  years  ;  and  we  now  hud  American  manufac- 
tures in  a  condition  to  compete  in  many  respects,  with  European 
fabrics,  and  all  that  is  required  in  most  instances  is  to  remove  the 
prejudices  which  exist  in  the  minds  of  purchasers  against  home 
productions,  and  then  we  should  have  the  demand  ibr  American 
goods  so  increased  as  to  improve  the  condition  of  our  own  manu- 
facturers, and  enable  them  eventually  to  completely  supply  our 
own  market.  What  we  say  is,  give  American  manufacturers  a 
fair  chance  ;  do  not  allow  the  old  feeling  that  certain  foreign 
countries  are  the  only  places  where  the  best  cloths  can  be  made, 
to  prevent  our  encouraging  to  the  greatest  possible  extent  the 
growing  manufactories  of  our  own  country.  Let  it  be  remembered 
that  most  of  the  American  manufacturers  have  had  difficulties  to 
encounter  in  the  prosecution  of  their  undertakings,  such  as  would 
have  disheartened  men  of  merely  ordinary  courage.  They  have 
commenced  in  a  small  way  with  little  or  no  capital  ;  have  strug- 
gled for  years,  endeavoring  to  equal  the  most  favorite  articles, 
and  when  they  have  accomplished  their  purpose,  or  nearly  so, 
they  are  met  at  the  merchants'  store  with  the  most  approving  re- 
marks, followed  by  the  very  unprofitable  appendage  that  the  cus- 
tomers will  have  English,  or  French,  or  German  goods — any- 
thing in  fact  rather  than  American  productions.  Here  is  a  re- 
ward for  years  of  ingenious  toil !  And  what  is  the  result  ? 
"Why,  prejudice  is  met  by  what  is  regarded  as  harmless  deception. 
Goods  made  in  America  are  packed  up  with  English,  French  or 
German  labels,  and  the  fop  who  prides  himself  on  his  suit  of 
French  superfine  cassimere  or  West-of-England  broadcloth,  and 
who  has  probably  paid  as  much  again  for  his  cloth  as  would  have 
satisfied  the  American  manufacturer  and  merchant  in  the  ordi- 
nary course  of  business,  may,  in  many  instances,  congratulate 
himself  that  his  country  has  so  far  progressed  in  the  manufacture 
of  these  articles  as  to  have  deceived  him,  and  perhaps  his  tailor 
too  ;  and  he  is,  after  ail,  wearing  what  has  never  crossed  the 
Atlantic  or  paid  a  shilling  of  customs  duty. 

What  we  want  is,  to  raise  a  more  generous  appreciation  of 
American  manufactured  articles,  such  as  will  render  deception 

9* 


202 


THE  GREAT  EXHIBITION. 


unprofitable.  If  a  man  has  any  patriotism  in  his  heart  or  intelli- 
gence in  his  head,  we  think  he  ought  rather  to  take  the  highest 
pleasure,  not  in  wearing  the  productions  of  foreign  countries,  hut 
in  showing  the  excellence  of  those  of  his  own.  Increased  demand 
always  has  the  ultimate  effect  of  lowering  prices  ;  and  if  the  con- 
sumption of  American  goods  were  largely  increased,  there  is  no 
doubt  that  American  manufacturers  would  be  enabled  so  to  in- 
crease their  facilities  as  very  materially  to  diminish  the  cost  of 
production,  while  they  would  be  able  to  devote  more  attention  to 
those  points  of  improvement,  and  to  new  branches  of  the  trade, 
to  which  we  are  about  to  call  their  especial  attention.  It  is  there- 
fore the  interest  of  the  consumer,  as  well  as  of  the  manufacturer, 
that  these  prejudices  should  give  way  before  facts  which  the  pre- 
sent Exhibition  has  brought  more  prominently  before  the  public. 

The  English  and  French  departments  of  the  Exhibition  are 
very  scantily  supplied  with  this  description  of  goods  ;  and  had 
we  no  other  opportunities  afforded  us  of  examining  the  produc- 
tions of  these  countries,  we  might,  from  what  is  exhibited,  be  led 
to  draw,  in  some  respects,  an  unjust  comparison.  Whether  it 
arises  from  a  consciousness  of  superiority,  such  as  defies  compe- 
tition, or  an  indifference  as  to  the  American  trade,  we  know  not ; 
but  certainly  there  appears  to  have  been  little  or  no  effort  on  the 
part  of  foreign  manufacturers  to  show  their  capabilities.  The 
German  States .  have  sent  a  larger  assortment  than  any  other 
countries  or  states,  but  their  display  is  more  to  be  noted  for  variety 
and  quantity  than  for  any  particular  superiority  in  any  of  their 
productions.  Russia  has  been  assigned  a  place  in  the  depart- 
ment of  the  German  States,  and  is  well  represented  by  the  pro- 
ductions of  one  manufacturer.  Belgium,  however,  in  a  very 
unostentatious  manner,  has  placed  before  us  seme  of  the  finest 
broadcloths,  combining,  as  it  appears  to  us,  all  the  points  of  excel- 
lence which  are  desirable  to  this  important  article  of  daily  wear ; 
and  if  the  relative  merits  of  the  six  nations,  America,  Great 
Britain,  France,  Germany,  Eussia,  and  Belgium,  are  to  be  judged 
of  by  the  present  exhibition  at  the  Crystal  Palace,  we  have  every 
reason  to  believe  that,  in  the  department  of  superfine  cloth,  the 
palm  of  excellence  would  justly  be  awarded  to  Belgium.  It 
must  be  remembered,  however,  that  the  specimens  of  extra- 


WOOL  AND  "WOOLLEN  MANUFACTURES. 


203 


superfine  West-of-England  and  French  010111,  which  gained  the 
prizes  at  the  World's  Fair  in  England,  in  1851,  are  not  included 
in  the  present  Exhibition. 

What  we  have  seriously  to  speak  of,  is  the  neglect  of  nearly  all 
the  exhibitors  to  provide  competent  persons  to  attend  the  stalls, 
and  afford  information  as  to  the  relative  prices  of  the  different 
articles.  We  can  judge  of  the  quality,  and  form  our  opinion  of 
its  relative  merits  with  regard  to  other  articles  of  a  similar  cha- 
racter ;  but,  unless  we  can  ascertain  the  price  at  which  such  and 
such  articles  can  be  obtained,  it  is  impossible  to  say  how  far 
America  has  succeeded  in  competing  with  foreign  countries  in 
this  respect.  If  the  Crystal  Palace  Company,  instead  of  station- 
ing all  over  the  building  so  many  men,  who  may  be  tolerably 
competent  as  policemen,  but  who  have  no  knowledge  of  the 
articles  exhibited,  would  select  from  the  various  trades,  men 
versed  in  the  technicalities  of  each  department,  whose  business  it 
should  be  to  become  posted  up  in  their  particular  line,  so  as  to  be 
able  to  give  disinterested  information,  and  perhaps  occasional 
lectures  on  the  various  specimens,  detailing  their  relative  value, 
and  pointing  out  their  merits  and  defects,  they  would  render  the 
Exhibition  a  school  of  art  and  manufacture,  as  well  as  a  place  of 
amusement  and  recreation.  Instead  of  being  a  mere  dumb  show, 
it  would  become  enlivened  by  the  remarks  of  wit  or  wisdom,  such 
as  the  various  objects  exhibited  are  so  well  calculated  to  bring 
forth,  while  the  interest  and  usefulness  of  the  exhibition  would  be 
very  greatly  enhanced. 

In  examining  some  of  the  most  important  specimens  of  woollen 
manufactures,  we  have  kept  in  mind  the  following  points  of  ex- 
cellence, which,  though  familiar  with  the  trade,  are  required  to 
be  understood  by  the  uninitiated  : 

I.  The  good  quality  of  the  wool  itself.  However  much  care 
may  have  been  taken  in  the  cleansing  of  the  wool  and  manufac- 
ture of  the  article,  unless,  in  the  first  instance,  the  wool  has  been 
selected  with  care,  and  with  due  regard  to  the  quality  of  the 
goods  required  to  be  produced,  no  after  process  can  remedy  this 
first  error.  The  proper  assortment  of  the  wool  is  indeed  a  prin- 
cipal secret  of  success  in  the  manufacture  of  woollen  goods  ;  and 


204 


THE  GREAT  EXHIBITION. 


we  recommend  this  fa^fc  to  the  attention  of  every  American 
woollen  manufacturer. 

II.  The  softness  and  flexibility  of  the  fabric,  and  freedom  from 
any  unpleasant  stillness  and  smell,  arising  from  the  defective 
cleansing  of  the  wool  in  the  first  instance.  The  cleansing  of  the 
wool  from  its  original  animal  oil,  is  an  operation  in  which  Eng- 
land at  present  far  excels  America  ;  and  there  is  no  defect  which 
it  is  more  important  that  American  manufacturers  should  remedy 
than  this  want  of  thorough  cleansing  of  the  wool  in  the  first 
instance.  It  constitutes  a  principal  difference  between  the  pro- 
ductions of  America  and  England,  and  renders  the  succeeding 
process  of  dyeing  far  more  difficult  and  uncertain  in  its  results. 

III.  Fastness  and  durability  of  color.  In  this  hot  climate, 
especially,  a  fast  color  is  indispensable,  as  the  excessive  perspira- 
tion is  otherwise  exceedingly  liable  to  remove  the  coloring  matter, 
and  the  heat  and  intense  light  of  the  sunshine  are  very  trying  to 
the  fixedness  of  a  dye.  Attention  to  our  advice,  relative  to  cleans- 
ing the  wool,  would  probably  effect  all  that  is  now  desirable  in 
American  goods  in  this  respect. 

IV.  Excellence  in  shearing.  The  length  of  the  nap  is  an-  im- 
portant consideration  in  all  superfine  cloths  ;  and,  if  our  American 
manufacturers  would  make  cloth  with  a  shorter  nap,  they  would 
be  able  to  produce  better  results. 

Y.  Permanent  finish.  It  is  most  desirable  to  have  a  cloth 
which  will  look  nearly  the  same,  after  six  months'  wear,  as  it 
did  when  first  made  up.  In  this  respect,  English  goods  certainly 
have  at  present  retained  the  highest  character.  For,  although 
France  and  Belgium  may  have  produced  goods  which  look  better 
in  the  piece,  and  the  high  finish  and  gloss  of  which  cannot  be 
excelled  by  the  best  West-of-England  manufactures  ;  still,  for 
wear,  and  the  retention  of  all  the  excellences  of  which  it  is  at 
first  possessed,  nothing  certainly  has  yet  been  proved  superior  or 
even  equal  to  the  English  goods.  One  important  reason  for  this 
durability  of  finish,  is  to  be  found  in  the  shortness  of  the  nap  ; 
because  it  must  be  obvious  that  a  cloth  with  a  long  nap  will  be- 
come sooner  disarranged  by  the  rain  and  dust,  and  wear  at  the 
joints  of  the  body,  or  where  the  cloth  is  subject  to  friction,  than 
one  with  a  short  nap.    But  the  most  important  reason  for  the 


WOOL  AND  WOOLLEN  MANUFACTURES. 


205 


durability  of  English  cloths  is  their  firmness  of  texture,  combined 
with  elasticity  and  pliability. 

VI.  Solidity  or  body  in  the  fabric.  This  element  cannot  be 
too  highly  prized,  if  it  be  found  combined  with  the  other  good 
qualities  we  have  enumerated. 

VII.  Water-proof.  There  are  some  cloths  in  which  this 
quality  is  desirable.  It  is  a  property  secured,  in  some  instan- 
ces, by  the  peculiar  nature  of  the  wTool  itself.  The  natural  oil 
of  such  wool,  if  allowed  to  remain  in  sufficient  quantity,  ren- 
ders it  impervious  to  all  ordinary  showers,  from  its  own  repel- 
ling character.  And,  although  the  fabric  is  as  porous  as  any 
other,  it  resists  the  rain  without,  while  it  permits  that  free 
ventilation  and  exit  for  the  vapors  of  the  body,  so  essential  to 
health,  and  the  want  of  which  is  the  principal  objection  to  the 
India-rubber  material.  The  same  desirable  result  is  likewise 
effected  by  a  composition  where  the  inherent  quality  of  the 
wool  does  not  answer  this  purpose. 

VIII.  Elasticity  is  likewise  an  important  property  in  woollen 
goods.  If  cloth,  when  stretched,  continue  in  the  same  position, 
and  does  not  again  contract  into  its  former  proportions,  it  is 
liable  to  the  objection  of  losing  its  proper  shape  in  wearing. 
For  instance,  the  elbows  of  coats  and  the  knees  of  pantaloons 
will  retain  their  protrusion  when  the  limbs  are  straight.  The 
elastic  nature  of  wrool  itself,  wiiich  is  strengthened  wrhen  spun, 
is  a  principal  preservative  against  this  defect ;  but  there  are 
some  goods  better  than  others  in  this  respect. 

IX.  Superiority  of  finish  and  glossy  texture.  These,  by  a 
large  class  of  purchasers,  will  always  be  regarded  as  the  prin- 
cipal elements  of  good  cloth  ;  and  certainly  wrhen  these  proper- 
ties are  combined  with  durability,  and  all  the  other  qualities 
we  have  enumerated,  the  climax  of  perfection  in  cloth  manu- 
facture is  attained.  To  have  a  glossy  dress  suit,  if  it  retains 
its  splendor  but  for  one  party,  where  the  object  is  to  make  an 
extra  appearance,  or  to  win  the  hand  of  some  fair  charmer, 
may  be  desirable  in  some  cases;  and  the  French,  in  their 
ready  adaptation  to  every  emergency  of  this  kind,  have  pro- 
vided cloths  of  surpassing  lustre,  the  durability  of  which,  how- 


206 


THE  GREAT  EXHIBITION. 


ever,  is  neither  expected  by  the  purchaser,  nor  desifed  by  the 
trade. 

X.  Lightness.  This  is  a  most  desirable  property  in  all 
summer  goods  intended  for  the  American  market,  and  it  is 
in  this  respect  more  than  in  any  other,  that  the  English  goods 
are  objectionable.  France  takes  the  lead  in  lightness  of  fabric, 
and  some  American  manufacturers  are  successfully  following 
the  example.  The  best  of  wool  is  essential  to  a  light  cloth, 
if  it  is  to  combine  the  elements  of  strength  and  durability  with 
its  lightness.  For  this  reason,  a  thin  cloth  will  often  be  found 
stronger  than  a  thick  one. 

There  are  some  fabrics  to  which  many  of  these  remarks  on 
quality  do  not  apply  ;  but  the  better  class  of  goods  generally 
require  to  be  examined,  with  a  view  to  these  characteristics; 
and  those  which  present  the  greatest  number,  combined,  will 
of  course  come  the  nearest  to  our  idea  of  perfection  in  cloth 
manufacture. 

The  exhibition  of  Woollen  Goods  in  the  Palace,  although  not 
equal  to  our  expectations,  presents  many  features  of  interest  ; 
and  the  first  in  order  of  production  is  wool  in  the  raw  state, 
and  in  the  various  processes  of  manufacture.  There  is  one 
case  of  this  character  in  the  English  department,  exhibited  by 
Messrs.  Burgess  &  Co.,  worsted  spinners,  Leicester.  It  con- 
tains, in  the  first  division,  specimens  of  all  the  various  kinds 
of  wool  used  in  the  production  of  the  varieties  of  yarn  exhibited 
in  the  other  divisions  of  the  case.  There  is  a  sample  from 
each  of  the  wool-growing  counties  of  England,  viz :  Shropshire, 
Northamptonshire,  Worcestershire,  Leicestershire,  Devonshire, 
Herefordshire,  and  Buckinghamshire,  as  well  as  samples  from 
Amsterdam,  Germany,  and  Ireland.  These  are  all  in  their 
unwashed  condition.  The  next  division  of  the  case  contains 
lambs'- wool  in  the  staple,  and  in  the  various  stages  of  manu- 
facture, until  finished  into  single  or  two-fold  worsted  yarns. 
Another  apartment  of  the  case  exhibits  English  sheep's-wool 
in  the  same  processes,  and  finished  into  single  and  three-fold 
worsted  yarns.  Another  exhibits  the  same  processes,  and 
made  into  five-fold  yarns.  Another  division  shows  the  same 
processes  with  German  wool ;  and  the  last  shows  ingrain,  or 


WOOL  AND  WOOLLEN  MANUFACTURES. 


207 


wool  dyed  in  the  staple,  and  combed  and  passing  through  all 
the  processes  until  made  into  yarn.  There  is  also  a  case  ex- 
hibited by  Messrs.  F.  Derby  &  Co.,  which  shows  more  clearly 
the  process  of  manufacture,  and  contains  samples  of  wool  in 
the  following  conditions: — 1.  Scoured  white;  2.  Indigoed,  pre- 
senting a  bluish  cast  of  color;  3.  Dyed  quite  black  ;  4.  Carded 
in  plaits,  just  as  it  is  drawn  from  the  rollers  of  the  carding- 
engine ;  5.  Spun  into  yarn,  and  prepared  for  weaving ;  6.  Har- 
nessed for  the  treddle,  which  separates  the  yarn  for  the  recep- 
tion of  the  shuttle;  7.  In  a  woven  condition,  but  still  showing 
the  thread  ;  8.  Felted  or  fulled  ;  9.  Dressed  or  teasseled,  with 
the  nap  raised  ;  10.  Finished  black  cloth. 

In  these  specimens  there  is  nothing  exhibited  of  the  mungo, 
shoddy,  or  "  devil's  dust,"  as  it  has  been  called  in  English 
political  debates.  And  as  these  articles  have  been  extensively 
used  in  the  large  woollen  manufactories  of  Yorkshire,  perhaps 
a  few  explanatory  remarks — the  result  of  personal  inspection 
when  in  England — may  not  be  unacceptable  here.  We  do 
not  introduce  it  because  we  wish  to  encourage  the  use  of  these 
articles  in  America,  as  we  are  aware  that  they  are  getting  into 
use  without  such  encouragement.  We  believe,  however,  that 
if  carefully  selected  and  used  in  moderation,  that  shorter  nap, 
of  which  wTe  have  spoken  as  desirable  in  American  goods,  will 
most  probably  be  secured.  We  are  aware,  too,  in  speaking 
of  these  articles,  we  may  be  considered  as  exposing  the  secrets 
of  the  trade  ;  but  as  we  write  for  public  enlightenment,  and 
the  advancement  of  our  domestic  manufactures,  we  are  sure 
that  we  are  justified  in  saying  what  wre  know  of  English  manu- 
factures in  this  respect. 

In  the  somewhat  hilly  district  of  Yorkshire,  between  Hud- 
dersfield  and  Leeds,  stand  on  two  prominences  the  pretty  little 
towns  of  Dewsbury  and  Batley  Car.  The  stranger,  on  alight- 
ing from  the  railwTay-ear,  is  struck  with  the  unusually  large 
warehouses,  built  of  stone,  by  the  Railway  Company.  For  such 
small  stations,  these  are  mysterious  erections.  But  if  he  enter 
the  principal  warehouses,  he  will  probably  find  piled  up  hun- 
dreds of  bales,  containing  the  cast-off  garments  of  Great  Britain 
and  the  Continent  of  Europe.    Here,  in  fact,  from  all  parts  of 


208 


THE  GREAT  EXHIBITION. 


the  world,  are  brought  the  tattered  remains  of  the  clothes, 
some  of  which  have  been  worn  by  royalty  in  the  various  Courts 
of  Europe,  as  well  as  by  peers  and  peasants.  The  rich  broad- 
cloth of  the  English  nobles  here  commingles  with  the  livery  of 
their  servants  and  the  worsted  blouses  of  French  republi- 
cans ;  while  American  under-shirts,  pantaloons,  and  all  other 
worsted  or  woollen  goods  may  there  be  found,  all  reduced  to 
one  common  level,  and  known  by  the  one  common  appellation 
of  "  rags." 

The  walls  of  the  town  are  placarded  with  papers  announcing 
public  auctions  of  "  Scotch  Shoddies,"  "  Mungoes,"  "  Rags,"  and 
such  like  articles  of  merchandise ;  and  every  few  days  the  goods 
department  of  the  railway  is  besieged  by  sturdy-looking  York- 
shiremen,  who  are  examining,  with  great  attention,  the  various 
bales  ;  some  of  which  are  assorted  into  "  whites,"  "  blue  stock- 
ings," "black  stockings,"  "carpets,"  "shawls,"  "stuffs,"  "skirt- 
ings," "  linseys,"  "  black  cloth,"  &c.  A  jovial-looking  man,  of 
doubtful  temperance  principles,  at  last  steps  forward,  and  puts 
the  goods  up  at  auction.  The  prices  which  these  worn-out  arti- 
cles fetch  is  surprising  to  the  uninitiated.  Old  stockings  will 
realize  from  £7  to  .£10  a  ton;  while  white  flannels  will  some- 
times sell  for  as  much  as  £20  a  ton,  and  even  more.  The 
"  hards,"  or  black  cloth,  when  clipped  free  from  all  seams  and 
threads,  are  worth  from  £20  to  £30  a  ton.  There  are  common 
mixed  sorts  of  coarse  fabric,  which  can  be  bought  as  low  as 
from  £3  to  £5  a  ton;  whilst  the  "rubbish,"  consisting  of  seams, 
linseys,  and  indescribables,  are  purchased  by  the  Chemists  for 
the  manufacture  of  Potash  Crystals,  for  from  £2  to  £3  a  ton. 

It  will  be  seen  that  assorting  these  old  woollens  is  equally 
important  with  the  assorting  of  the  different  qualities  of  new 
wool ;  and  there  is  the  additional  consideration  of  colors  to  ren- 
der assorting  still  more  necessary.  It  is  surprising,  however, 
with  what  rapidity  all  this  is  accomplished.  There  are  some 
houses  where  old  woollen  rags  are  divided  into  upwards  of 
twenty  different  sorts,  ready  for  the  manufacturer.  The  princi- 
pal varieties  are  flannels,  of  which  there  are  "  English  Whites," 
"Welsh  Whites,"  "Irish  Whites,"  and  "Drabs."  Each  of 
these  commands  a  different  price  in  the  market :  the  English 


WOOL  AND  WOOLLEN  MANUFACTURES.  209 


and  "Welsh,  being  much  whiter  than  the  Irish,  and  of  finer  tex- 
ture, are  worth  nearly  double  the  price  of  the  Irish.  The  stock- 
ings are  the  next  in  value  to  the  flannels,  on  account  of  the 
strength  and  elasticity  of  the  wool.  The  peculiar  stitch  or  bend 
of  the  worsted  in  stocking  manufacture,  and  the  hot  water  and 
washing  to  which  they  are  submitted  during  their  stocking  ex- 
istence, have  the  effect  of  producing  a  permanent  elasticity 
which  no  after  process  destroys,  and  no  new  wool  can  be  found 
to  possess.  Hence,  old  stockings  are  always  in  great  demand, 
and  realize  for  good  clean-colored  sorts  as  much  as  £16  a  ton, 
in  busy  seasons.  The  white  worsted  stockings  are  the  most 
valuable  of  the  "  softs,"  and  when  supplied  in  sufficient  quan- 
tity, will  sell  for  as  much  as  £28  a  ton.  Carpets  and  other 
colored  sorts  are  generally,  owing  to  their  rapid  accumulation, 
to  be  had  at  very  low  prices.  The  rag  collectors  and  mer- 
chants of  America  would  be  sure  to  find  a  good  market  for  flan- 
nels and  stockings  in  England,  but  the  common  articles  would 
scarcely  pay  for  the  transit. 

The  "  hards,"  consisting  of  old  superfine  cloth,  will  generally 
realize  good  prices  in  England,  and  should  be  stripped  of  their 
seams  and  sifted  free  from  dirt,  before  exporting.  We  have 
seen  from  twenty  to  thirty  Irish  women  in  a  room,  all  cut- 
ting the  seams  from  old  cloth.  This  is  in  fact  an  important 
branch  of  the  business,  and  in  Liverpool,  Manchester,  and 
nearly  all  large  towns,  it  finds  employment  for  many  hundreds 
of  hands.  They  are  generally  paid  by  the  weight  of  rags 
they  cut. 

"  Shoddy,"  so  well  understood  in  Yorkshire,  is  the  general 
term  for  the  wool  produced  by  the  grinding,  or  more  technically, 
the  "pulling"  up  of  all  the  soft  woollens;  and  all  woollens 
are  soft  except  the  superfine  cloths.  The  usual  method  of  con- 
verting woollens  into  shoddy,  is  to  first  carefully  assort  them, 
so  as  to  see  that  not  a  particle  of  cotton  remains  on  them,  and 
then  to  pass  them  through  a  rag-machine.  This  consists  of  a 
cylinder  three  feet  in'  diameter  and  twenty  inches  wide,  with 
steel  teeth  half  an  inch  apart  from  each  other,  and  standing  out 
from  the  cylinder,  when  new,  one  inch.  This  cylinder  revolves 
five  hundred  times  in  a  minute,  and  the  rags  are  drawn  grad- 


210 


THE  GREAT  EXHIBITION. 


ually  close  to  its  surface  by  two  fluted  iron  rollers,  the  upper 
one  of  which  is  packed  with  thin  stuff  or  skirting,  so  as  to  press 
the  rags  the  closer  to  the  action  of  the  teeth.  The  cylinder 
runs  upwards  past  three  rollers,  and  any  pieces  of  rag  which 
are  not  completely  torn  into  wool,  are,  by  their  natural  gravity, 
thrown  back  again  upon  the  rags  which  are  slowly  creeping  into 
the  machine.  The  rollers  are  fed  by  means  of  a  creeper  or 
slowly  moving  endless  cloth  on  which  a  man,  and  in  some 
instances  a  woman,  lays  the  rags  in  proper  quantities.  One  of 
these  machines  is  commonly  driven  by  a  seven-inch  strap,  and 
requires  at  least  five-horse  power.  Half  a  ton  of  rags  can  be 
pulled  in  ten  hours  by  one  of  these  machines.  The  dust  pro- 
duced, subjects  the  work-people,  who  first  commence  this  occu- 
pation, to  what  is  there  called  the  "  rag  fever."  But  after  a 
time  the  immediate  effects  are  warded  off,  and  although  it  no 
doubt  shortens  life,  the  remuneration  being  considerable,  (two 
English  shillings  for  every  two  hundred  and  forty  pounds  of 
rags  pulled,)  there  is  never  any  difficulty  in  obtaining  work- 
people. 

The  "  Mungo"  is  the  wool  produced  by  subjecting  the  hards 
or  superfine  cloths  to  a  similar  operation  as  that  above  de- 
scribed. The  machine,  however,  for  the  mungo  trade  is  made 
with  a  greater  number  of  teeth,  several  thousands  more  in  the 
same-sized  cylinder,  and  the  cylinder  runs  about  seven  hundred 
revolutions  in  a  minute.  The  rags,  previous  to  being  pulled  in 
this  machine,  are  passed  through  a  machine  called  a  "shaker." 
This  is  made  of  a  coarsely-toothed  cylinder,  about  two  feet  and 
a  half  in  diameter,  which  revolves  about  three  hundred  times  in 
a  minute,  in  a  coarse  wire  cylinder.  This  takes  away  a  large 
portion  of  the  dust,  which  is  driven  out  at  a  chimney  by  means 
of  a  fan.  The  mungo-pulling  is,  therefore,  a  cleaner  business 
than  the  shoddy-making,  and,  as  a  general  rule,  is  more  profit- 
able. The  power  required  for  a  mungo  machine  is  that  of 
about  seven  horses. 

Both  the  better  kinds  of  shoddy  and  the  mungo  have  for 
some  years  been  saturated  with  oil ;  but  when  we  were  last  in 
Yorkshire,  we  found  that  milk  had  been  applied  to  this  purpose, 
and  found  to  answer  exceedingly  well.    The  consequence  was, 


WOOL  AND  WOOLLEN  MANUFACTURES.  211 


that  milk  had  risen  one  hundred  per  cent,  in  price;  and  even  in 
that  district,  where  cows  are  kept  in  large  numbers,  it  was  fear- 
ed there  would  be  a  great  scarcity  of  milk  for  the  supply  of  the 
towns. 

When  well  saturated  with  oil  or  milk,  the  shoddy  or  the 
munsro  is  sold  to  the  woollen  manufacturer.  There  are  scores 
of  men  who  attend  the  Huddersfield  market  every  Tuesday  to 
dispose  of  their  mungo.  It  is  as  much  an  article  of  marketable 
value  there,  as  cloth  is  here.  It  is  not  unusual  for  good  mungo 
to  realize  as  much  as  eight  English  pence  per  pound,  while  the 
shoddy  varies  in  price  from  one  penny  to  sixpence  per  pound 
according  to  quantity. 

The  common  kinds  of  shoddy  require,  of  course,  to  be  sub- 
jected to  the  scouring^  process,  for  which  large  wTooden  beaters, 
or  "  stocks,"  are  employed.  The  excrescence  of  hogs  is  largely 
employed  in  this  purifying  process,  as  well  as  human  urine, 
which  is  extensively  used  in  the  blanket  manufacture  of  York- 
shire. 

The  white  shoddy  is  capable  of  being  used  either  for  light-co- 
lored goods  or  for  the  common  kinds  of  blankets,  wdiile  the 
dark-colored  shoddy  is  worked  into  all  kinds  of  coarse  cloths, 
carpets,  &c,  which  are  dyed  any  dark  color,  so  as  to  hide  the 
various  colors  of  the  old  fabrics.  It  is  mixed  in  with  new 
wool  in  such  proportion  as  its  quality  will  permit,  without  de- 
teriorating the  sale  of  the  material. 

The  mungo  is  used  in  nearly  all  the  Yorkshire  superfine 
cloths,  and  in  some  very  extensively.  It  produces  a  cloth  some- 
what inferior,  of  course,  to  the  West-of  England  goods  in  dura- 
bility, but,  for  finish  and  appearance,  when  first  made  up,  the 
inferiority  would  only  be  perceived  by  a  good  judge  of  cloth. 

The  great  English  slop-sellers,  Moses  &  Hyam,  are  among 
the  largest  purchasers  of  Yorkshire  broadcloths. 

The  effect  of  shoddy  in  the  cloth  of  an  overcoat  in  the  wear, 
is  to  rub  out  of  the  cloth  and  accumulate  between  it  and  the 
lining.  We  have  seen  a  gentleman  take  a  handful  of  this  short 
wool  from  the  corners  of  his  coat. 

The  grounds  on  which  this  shoddy  and  mungo  business  can 
be  justified,  are  the  cheapening  of  cloth,  and  the  turning  to  a 


212 


THE  GREAT  EXHIBITION. 


useful  purpose  what  would  be  otherwise  almost  useless.  The 
business  in  Yorkshire  is  dignified  by  the  title  of  the  "  Dewsbury 
trade."  And  to  it  Dewsbury  certainly  owes  its  wealth,  and 
we  might  almost  say  its  existence.  In  twenty  years  it  has 
grown  from  a  village  to  a  town  of  some  thirty  thousand  inhab- 
itants, and  some  immense  fortunes  have  been  made  by  this  ex- 
traordinary transformation  of  old  garments  into  new. 

Considerable  quantities  of  white  shoddy  have  been  sent  from 
England  and  Scotland  to  this  country  ;  and  a  machinist  inform- 
ed us  that  he  had  sent  several  of  his  rag  machines,  so  that  the 
trade  is  not  entirely  unknown  here,  and  it  is  probable  that  there 
will  one  day  arise  a  Dewsbury  in  the  New  England  States, 
which  will  render  it  unnecessary  to  send  old  woollens  to  Eng- 
land, to  be  pulled  into  wool,  and  then  returned  here  again  at 
the  cost  of  some  three  hundred  per  cent,  above  the  price  given 
for  the  woollen  rags. 

The  Dewsbury  trade  is  somewhat  fluctuating,  being  affected 
very  much  by  the  state  of  the  wool  market.  About  this  time 
last  year,  the  wool  market  was  high  in  England  in  consequence 
of  the  report  that  the  shepherds  of  Australia  were  all  deserting 
their  avocations  to  go  to  the  diggings,  and  this  had  the  effect  of 
promoting  the  Dewsbury  trade.  So  great  is  the  competition  in 
the  English  markets,  that  as  soon  as  a  rise  takes  place  in  the 
price  of  new  wrool,  the  small  manufacturers,  instead  of  raising 
their  prices,  commonly  regulate  their  expenditure  by  using  a 
larger  proportion  of  the  old  material,  and  they  are  thus  enabled 
to  compete,  in  prices  at  least,  with  the  larger  manufacturers, 
who  can  lay  in  a  large  stock  of  new  wool  when  the  prices  are 
low. 

Sixty  years  ago,  the  imports  of  wool  into  Great  Britain 
scarcely  exceeded  twenty  thousand  bales  a  year.  Spain  was 
then  the  best  producer  for  the  English  market.  At  the  com- 
mencement of  the  present  century,  the  total  annual  imports 
amounted  to  about  forty-two  thousand  bales.  As  Britain  has 
gone  on  increasing  her  own  population,  and  sending  out  emi- 
grants to  people  her  colonies,  she  has  proportionately  increased 
her  importations  of  wool,  until,  in  1852,  we  find  that  no  less 
than  325,695  bales  of  wool  were  imported. 


WOOL  AND  WOOLLEN  MANUFACTURES.  213 

German  wool  has  for  some  time  been  popular  in  England, 
and  since  the  war,  the  importations  have  been  greatly  increas- 
ed, although  fluctuating.    They  may  be  stated  as  follows  : 

1814    9,807  bales.  1  1826    30,219  bales- 

1820    14,607  bales.    1833    72,776  bales- 

1825    82,284  bales.  |  1852    36,114  bales. 

Spanish  wool  has  been  superseded  by  the  German  in  the  Eng- 
lish market,  and  the  German  wool  is  now  being  superseded 
by  the  Australian,  and  this  accounts  for  the  decrease  since  1833 
of  German  importations.  The  amount  of  wool  received  from 
Australia  last  year  by  the  English  was  145,767  bales,  nearly 
one-half  of  the  whole  importation.  The  amount  of  wool  sent 
by  the  United  States  to  England,  from  June  30,  1851,  to  June 
30,  1852,  was  5200  lbs.,  worth  $1600,  and  to  Scotland  in  the 
same  period  only  268  lbs.,  worth  $39  ;  while  Canada  sent  dur- 
ing the  same  period,  49,977  lbs.,  worth  $12,627. 

A  moderately  cold  climate  is  best  adapted  for  sheep.  Moun- 
tainous districts,  affording  all  the  variety  of  temperature  from 
extreme  heat  to  extreme  cold,  in  their  intermediate  localities  on 
the  sides  of  verdant  hills,  are  the  most  suitable  for  sheep-wulks. 
In  such  districts,  the  shepherd  can  suit  his  flock  to  the  season,  the 
weather  and  their  power  of  endurance.  In  the  cold  of  winter  he 
shelters  from  the  strong  blast  in  the  valleys,  and  as  the  warm 
weather  approaches  he  can  guide  his  gentle  charge  to  more  ele- 
vated plains,  reaching  near  the  summits  as  the  hot  weather  ap- 
proaches, there  to  enjoy  the  cool,  bracing,  mountain  air. 

The  Newr-England  States  are  the  best  adapted  for  sheep  pas- 
turage, although  there  are  many  sheep  grown  in  Illinois,  Ohio, 
and  some  other  Western  States.  "We  have  seen,  however,  good 
wool  said  to  have  been  grown  as  far  south  as  Virginia  ;  but  this 
was  doubtless  in  the  mountainous  districts  where  cool  pasturage 
can  be  selected.  Wool-growing  in  America  is  an  important 
branch  of  agriculture.  The  scope  for  its  successful  operation  is 
immense,  and  the  choice  of  locality  affords  excellent  opportunities 
for  useful  experiments  with  the  different  breeds  of  sheep. 

The  demand  for  wool  in  England  is  generally  greater  than  the 
supply,  and  it  is  this  circumstance,  combined  with  the  profitable 
nature  of  the  business,  which  has  given  rise  to  the  Dewsbury 


214 


THE  GREAT  EXHIBITION*. 


trade.  "While  we  have  endeavored  to  describe  this  trade  for  the 
benefit  of  our  home  manufacturers  who  may  have  had  no  oppor- 
tunity of  seeing  the  Yorkshire  processes,  we  should  much  rather 
recommend  the  more  extensive  growth  of  new  wool,  and  atten- 
tion to  its  improvement,  with  all  its  healthful  rural  pursuits,  than 
the  extensive  introduction  of  the  Dewsbury  trade  in  this  country. 

The  Flannels  and  Blankets  of  the  American  Department  of  the 
Crystal  Palace  deserve  especial  notice.  There  is  a  case  exhibit- 
ing three  grades  of  quality  in  Blankets  manufactured  at  the  Roch- 
dale Mills,  Rochester,  N.  H.,  by  the  Norway  Plains  Company,  and 
placed  in  the  Exhibition  by  Nesmith  &  Co.  The  wool  of  these 
Blankets  is  evidently  well  selected  and  cleansed.  The  coloring 
at  the  ends  is  variegated,  and  the  Blankets  are  silk-bound.  We 
saw  nothing  in  the  English  Department,  even,  which  equals 
these  excellent  articles,  either  for  whiteness  or  softness  ;  and  al- 
though there  is  a  pair  of  Whitney  Blankets,  which  are  said  to  be 
like  those  "presented  to  the  Queen  and  Prince  Albert  in  April, 
1851,  and  manufactured  by  Mr.  E.  Early,  of  Whitney,  which  are 
probably  the  best  that  can  be  made  in  England,  being  selected 
from  a  variety  of  fleeces,  we  must  §ay  they  do  not  come  up  to 
these  Rochester  Blankets,  either  in  whiteness  or  finish,  whatever 
may  be  said  of  their  strength  and  durability. 

For  beauty  and  exquisite  finish,  however,  we  must  mention  a 
case  of  embroidered  blankets,  exhibited  by  Messrs.  Snelling, 
Parker,  Wilder  &  Co.,  of  Boston.  The  ends  of  the  blankets, 
which  appear  to  be  the  size  for  children's  couches,  are  embroi- 
dered with  a  bold  pattern  of  a  vine  and  flowers  :  one  in  scarlet, 
and  the  others  in  crimson,  green,  blue,  and  orange  colors.  The 
case  being  locked,  and  no  person  to  exhibit  the  goods,  we  were  un- 
able to  feel  the  quality  of  the  wool ;  but,  judging  from  the  ap- 
pearance, we  should  say  it  is  the  best  that  could  be  selected. 
The  surface  is  more  closely  sheared  than  that  of  ordinary  blankets, 
probably  in  order  to  show  the  embroidery  to  greater  perfection. 
We  have  never  seen  better  taste  displayed  in  this  department  of 
manufacture,  it  being  unusual  to  ornament  blankets  so  artistically. 

The  Canadian  Department  contains  seme  prize  blankets,  said 
to  have  taken  the  prize  at  the  Crystal  Palace  in  London,  in  com- 
parison with  the  Royal  Whitney  Blankets  just  referred  to.  They 


WOOL  AtfD  WOOLLEjST  MANUFACTURES.  215 


possess  the  qualities  of  strength  and  durability  in  a  pre-eminent 
degree — qualities  to  which  our  home  manufacturers  would  do  well 
to  pay  some  attention — but  we  cannot  pronounce  them  superior 
to  the  Whitney  blankets  for  any  other  quality.  There  is  also  in 
this  department  an  assortment  of  home-made  fabrics,  gray  wool- 
lens, knitted  shawls,  &c,  serving  to  contrast  the  work  of  former 
ages,  and  of  the  backwoods  women  of  the  present  times,  with 
the  results  of  machinery  and  modern  improvements  displayed 
in  the  other  departments,  and  serving  to  illustrate  the  progress  of 
the  woollen  manufacture  in  this  country,  as  well  as  showing 
how  the  far- west  Canadians  still  stand  in  relation  to  this  branch 
of  manufacture. 

In  the  English  Department,  there  are  some  good  specimens  of 
"Whitney  blankets,  Welch  flannels,  &c,  but,  their  qualities  being 
well-known,  we  need  not  enlarge  upon  them,  further  than  to  say 
they  excel  our  home  manufacture  principally  in  the  qualities  of 
strength,  evenness  or  regularity  of  thickness,  and  weight  ;  quali- 
ties which  must  continue  to  command  the  market  until  our  home 
manufacturers  have  learned  to  combine  them  with  their  own 
superiority,  both  in  whiteness  and  finish. 

In  the  French  Department,  we  observe  several  blankets,  manu- 
factured by  T.  Bouillier  &  Co.  of  France,  supplied  for  exhibition 
by  Messrs.  A.  T.  Stewart  &  Co.  of  this  City.  These  blankets 
appear  to  us  to  combine  all  the  strong  spinning  and  durability  of 
the  Whitney  blanket,  with  the  softness  and  finish  of  the  Rochester 
goods  above  referred  to.  We  can  recommend  these  blankets  as 
models  for  our  home  manufacturers  to  imitate.  They  certainly 
present  the  qualities  most  desirable  in  a  good  blanket,  being  made 
of  good,  soft  wool,  even,  free  from  thin  places,  strong,  well  spun, 
closely  woven,  well  carded  or  napped,  prettily  colored  at  the 
ends,  and  free  from  all  unpleasant  smell.  Better  and  more  ser- 
viceable blankets  we  have  never  examined. 

There  is  also  in  the  American  Department  a  case  of  flannels, 
exhibited  by  John  Slade  &  Co.,  and  manufactured  by  the  Ballard 
Vale  Company.  They  are  four-quarter  wide  flannels,  and  are  un- 
equalled for  fineness  of  texture,  and  for  whiteness,  by  the  best 
Welsh  flannels. 

The  most  approved  flannels,  however,  are,  in  our  opinion,  those 


216 


THE  GREAT  EXHIBITION. 


in  a  case  sent  by  Messrs.  Dale  &  Co.,  of  this  city,  from  the  manu- 
factory of  George  H.  Gilbert,  Ware,  Mass.  We  have  never  seen 
flannels  made  of  finer  wool  than  these  appear  to  be.  The  case 
being  locked,  was  inaccessible  ;  but,  judging  from  the  appearance, 
we  have  good  reason  to  compliment  the  manufacturer  on  the  un- 
rivalled excellence  of  his  goods. 

The  amount  expended  in  the  importation  of  blankets  and  flan- 
nels during  the  year  ending  June  30,  1852,  was  as  follows  : 


For  Blankets.  For  Flannels. 

England   $963,455  $79,159 

Scotland   1,336   

British  American  Colonies   32   

Canada   6  27 

France  on  the  Atlantic   31,929  317 

France  on  the  Mediterranean. . . .  47,972   

Holland   1,431   

Hanse  Towns   136  7,489 

Mexico   14  


Total  $1,046,361  $87,492 

In  our  criticisms  on  these  important  productions  we  have  been 
guided  entirely  by  the  principles  with  regard  to  quality,  with,  the 
statement  of  which  we  commenced  this  article.  We  believe  we 
cannot  better  serve  the  manufacturers  of  the  United  States  and 
the  best  interests  of  the  country,  than  by  the  candid  statement  of 
unbiased  opinion,  whether  favorable  or  not  to  the  present  state  of 
our  manufacturing  science  ;  and  we  trust  it  will  be  seen  that  our 
object  is  to  encourage  the  home  trade,  not  by  any  flattering  lauda- 
tions of  inferior  articles  because  they  are  American,  but  by  giving 
credit  where  it  is  justly  due,  and  holding  up  for  public  approval 
what,  in  our  judgment,  is  most  worthy  of  praise,  irrespective  of 
the  Country  or  State  which  may  have  produced  it  ;  knowing 
that  the  only  sure  foundation  for  successful  manufacturing  enter- 
prise consists  in  a  steady  determination  to  excel — a  constant  and 
undeviating  effort  to  attain  perfection.  It  is  this  alone  which 
will  remove  all  prejudice  in  favor  of  foreign  goods  ;  and,  if  we 
may  judge  from  the  progress  already  made,  and  the  degree  of  ex- 
cellence attained,  we  have  every  reason  to  congratulate  the 


WOOL  AND  WOOLLEN  MANUFACTURES.  217 


American  manufacturers  and  our  readers  generally  on  the  pros- 
pect before  us  as  a  nation  in  this  respect.  If  we  go  on  as  we  have 
done,  the  perfection  of  our  woollen  manufactures,  so  as  to  sup- 
plant our  foreign  supplies,  must  be  near  ;  and  we  would  urge  for- 
ward the  work,  as  well  worthy  the  skill,  industry  and  persever- 
ance of  a  great  and  independent  republic. 


10 


218 


THE  GREAT  EXHIBITION. 


XXL 

WOOL  AND  WOOLLEN  MANUFACTURES. 

[second  article.] 

In  the  wise  economy  of  Nature,  nothing  is  more  remarkable 
than  the  application  to  new  and  useful  purposes  of  those  sub- 
stances which,  in  the  activities  of  life,  have  been  reduced  to  ap- 
parently worthless  material.  No  sooner  has  decomposition  in 
dead  animal  or  vegetable  tissue  commenced,  or  its  first  form 
ended,  than  life  in  a  new  shape  makes  its  appearance.  Man 
avails  himself  of  this  circumstance,  and,  when  any  material  has 
become  unfit  for  any  other  purpose,  it  becomes  the  most  valuable 
agent  in  the  hands  of  the  agriculturist  for  the  production  of  the 
various  fruits  of  the  earth  essential  to  human  existence.  This 
same  principle  has  been  applied  to  mechanical  as  well  as  to  na- 
tural science — to  manufactures  as  well  as  to  agriculture.  The 
paper  on  which  we  write  is  an  illustration  of  this  in  relation  to 
worn-out  cotton  fabrics  being  made,  as  is  well  known,  from  old 
rags  which  once  formed  the  under-garments  of  the  active  popula- 
tion of  the  world.  Our  former  article  showed  that  the  same 
principle  has  been  extensively  applied  to  the  reproduction  of 
woollen  fabrics  ;  and  we  have  introduced  this  subject  again  be- 
cause the  necessary  limits  of  our  previous  essay  prevented  the 
mention  of  one  department  of  this  peculiar  trade,  which  is  less 
known  in  America  than  that  which  we  explained,  but  which  has 
been  a  growing  trade  in  the  old  countries  of  Europe,  and  in  Eng- 
land in  particular — we  refer  to  the  application  of  wool  to  the  pur- 
poses of  stuffing  Mattresses,  beds,  cushions,  and  some  other 
useful  articles  require  to  be  filled  with  some  elastic  material ; 
and  there  is  no  more  justifiable  application  of  old  woollens  than 
to  the  manufacture  of  what,  in  the  early  part  of  the  trade  were 
called  "  woollen  flocks,"  but  which  in  the  progress  of  the  manu- 


WOOL  AND  WOOLLEN  MANUFACTURES.  219 


factoring  art  have  been  entitled  successively  "  water-flocks," 
"  mill-puff,''  and  latterly  "  curled  wool." 

In  Yorkshire,  England,  the  shortest  portion  of  the  shoddy,  (ex- 
plained in  the  former  article)  which  cannot  he  made  into  yarn,  is 
sold  by  the  manufacturers  to  flock-dealers,  who  travel  to  the 
various  towns  of  England  and  sell  the  flocks  to  the  upholsterers, 
and  bed  and  mattress-makers,  at  prices  varying  from  one  penny 
to  fourpence  per  pound  according  to  quality.  The  lowest  goods 
of  this  class  are  made  from  linseys,  containing  a  large  admixture 
of  cotton,  (worth  about  <£3  a  tun,)  and  these  are  sometimes  sold 
even  for  less  than  one  penny  per  pound.  The  waste  wool,  which 
is  carded  off  the  face  of  the  blankets,  is  also  sold  to  the  flock- 
dealers,  and  generally  brings  from  fivepence  to  eightpence  per 
lb.  The  goods  known  as  "Yorkshire  flocks"  have  within  about 
seven  years  been  superseded  by  Mr.  Mathew  Grist,  of  Stroud, 
Gloucestershire,  who  made  a  great  improvement  in  this  manufac- 
ture, and  produced  an  article  of  a  more  elastic  nature,  called 
"  mill-puff"  This  remedied  the  principal  objection  to  Yorkshire 
flocks,  their  tendency  to  become  hard  by  use.  Mr.  Grist  invented 
a  machine  by  which  the  wool  or  shoddy  was  separated  into  small 
globules,  and  each  of  these  having  a  tendency,  by  their  nature,  to 
spring  from  each  other,  the  liability  to  become  hard  or  solid  was, 
to  some  extent,  obviated,  and  one  of  the  best  materials  for  stuffing 
purposes  was  the  result.  By  this  improvement,  the  flocks  were 
increased  fifty  per  cent,  in  marketable  value,  and  Mr.  Grist  and 
his  sons,  keeping  the  invention  a  secret,  realized  a  large  fortune 
in  a  very  short  time,  as  the  demand  soon  became  very  consider- 
able. There  is  scarcely  a  town  in  England  or  Scotland  where 
mill-puff  has  not  become  an  article  of  daily  use  among  the  bed 
and  mattress  manufacturers.  Many  have  been  the  attempts, 
especially  in  Yorkshire,  to  imitate  these  goods,  but  without  suc- 
cess, till  the  spring  of  1852,  when  Mr.  Henry  S.  Clubb,  of  Man- 
chester, invented  a  machine  and  a  new  process  of  mixing  certain 
sorts  of  wool  and  of  manufacture  by  which  a  still  more  elastic 
material  was  produced.  This  he  called  "  curled  wool."  It  has 
been  pronounced  by  the  trade  as  superior  in  elasticity  and  in  the 
quality  of  "  filling"  to  any  other  description  of  wool  ever  em- 
ployed for  stuffing'.    The  newest  and  longest  wool  is  inferior  for 


220 


THE  GREAT  EXHIBITION. 


stuffing  purposes  to  this  short,  curled  material.  This  manufac- 
ture is  now  carried  on  in  Manchester  by  the  brother  of  the  in- 
ventor, of  the  firm  of  Clubb,  Howorth  &  Co. 

The  most  that  can  be  said  of  wool  for  stuffing  is,  that  it  supplies 
an  article  of  medium  quality  and  price,  being  neither  so  good#  or 
so  expensive  as  hair  or  feathers,  and  much  superior  and  a  little 
more  expensive  than  sea-weed,  straw,  and  the  cotton-waste 
which  is  used  so  extensively  in  England  for  the  commonest  kinds 
of  beds  and  mattresses.  The  improvements  above  described,  and 
the  cheapness  of  these  articles,  compared  with  hair  and  feathers, 
have  tended  to  bring  wool  for  stuffing  into  greater  favor,  and  the 
result  is  that  the  demand  for  the  various  kinds  of  woollen  flocks 
in  England  and  Scotland  amounts  to  several  thousand  tuns  a  year. 

In  the  department  of  the  Crystal  Palace  devoted  to  Holland,  is 
displayed  the  largest  and  most  complete  assortment  of  Blankets. 
Holland  wool  is  very  long  and  fleecy,  it  being  commonly  known 
to  grow  to  ten  inches  in  length.  These  blankets  are  peculiar,  as 
having  an  extraordinary  length  of  nap,  resembling  the  coat  of  a 
white  polar  bear.  The  wool  of  which  they  are  made  is  un- 
doubtedly of  excellent  quality,  being  white  and  strong.  The  spin- 
ning and  weaving  are  good ;  and  so  full  and  strong  is  the  nap 
that,  when  looked  at  edgewise,  some  of  them  appear  to  be  three- 
quarters  of  an  inch  in  thickness.  They  possess  the  quality  of 
softness  in  a  pre-eminent  degree,  and  we  have  no  doubt  will  be 
found  proof  against  the  severest  weather. 

The  counties  of  Somersetshire,  "Wiltshire,  Devonshire,  Glouces- 
tershire -and  Dorsetshire  have  long  been  famous  for  the  production 
of  the  best  broadcloths  ;  and,  although  the  "West  Riding  of  York- 
shire has  become  a  successful  rival  in  the  market,  it  is  not  on 
account  of  any  intrinsic  superiority  of  its  goods,  but  the  cheapness 
of  its  prices  and  the  excellence  of  its  finish. 

The  remarks  of  our  contemporary,  the  Courier  des  Etats 
Unis,  speaking  of  British  manufactures,  that  they  "  possess  in  the 
"  highest  degree  the  art  of  giving  a  good  appearance  to  the  most 

*  The  Editor  of  this  volume  protests  against  any  admission  that  feathers 
are  "  good"  at  all  for  the  beds  of  any  bipeds  but  fowls,  especially  geese. 
For  human  beings,  feather  beds  are  unwholesome,  uncleanly  and  uncomfort- 
able. 


WOOL  AND  WOOLLEN  MANUFACTURES.  221 


"  inferior  articles,"  must  be  regarded  as  referring  to  the  Yorkshire 
manufacturers  rather  than  to  those  of  the  West-of-England.  All 
respectable  tailors  in  England  profess  to  use  West-of England 
goods  ;  and  yet  Yorkshire  is  stated  by  McCulloch  to  have  em- 
ployed or  supported  85,096  families  in  1831,  in  the  cloth  manu- 
facture, whilst  the  West-of-England  employed  only  20,851  in  the 
same  period.  There  is  no  doubt  but  a  large  quantity  of  Yorkshire 
goods  are  sold  for  West-of-England  productions,  in  order  to  meet  the 
prejudice  which  exists,  and  with  reason,  so  strongly  in  favor  of 
these  goods.  It  is  due  to  the  West-of-England  manufacturers  to 
say  that  they  have  well  sustained  the  character  of  English  goods  ; 
whilst  they  have  had  the  cheap  prices  of  the  mungo  traders  of 
Yorkshire  to  compete  with.  Some  account,  therefore,  of  the  pro- 
cesses by  which  this  high  character  has  been  secured,  will  be  use- 
ful to  the  manufacturer,  as  well  as  interesting  to  the  general  reader. 

The  great  distinction  between  the  woollen  manufactures  of  the 
West-of-England  and  of  the  North,  consists  in  the  entire  use  of 
new  wool  ;  principally  German  and  Australian,  many  of  the 
manufacturers  of  the  West  being  too  anxious  to  preserve  their 
character  for  strength  and  durability,  to  allow  the  mixture  of  old 
material  or  mungo  with  any  of  their  goods. 

The  woollen  manufacture  is  divided  into  two  important 
branches,  produced  by  two  leading  qualities  of  wool.  The 
"  woollen  manufacture,"  in  its  precise  or  restricted  meaning,  ap- 
plies only  to  cloths  made  of  the  short  wool,  and  such  as  possess 
the  quality  of  felting  or  adhering  together,  and  of  elasticity ;  the 
other  branch  is  called  the  "  worsted  manufacture,"  in  which  long 
wool  and  such  as  possesses  no  particular  tenacity  of  fabric  is  used. 
The  first  process,  therefore,  is  to  separate  the  wool  into  long  and 
short.  The  latter  is  passed  on  to  assorters,  or,  as  they  are  com- 
monly called,  "  sorters."  In  this  process,  the  senses  of  touch  and 
sight  become  peculiarly  active.  Each  bale  of  wool  contains 
many  different  degrees  of  fineness,  softness,  strength,  color,  clean- 
ness, and  weight;  and  each  of  these  is  particularly  regarded 
by  the  sorter,  who  separates  the  wool  into  the  following  kinds  : 
"  prime,"  "  choice,"  "  super,"  "  head,"  "  downrights,"  "  seconds," 
"  fine  abb,"  "  coarse  abb,"  "  livery,"  &c.  A  great  deal  depends 
upon  this  process  ;  and  it  is  partly  owing  to  the  pains  taken  by 


222 


THE  GREAT  EXHIBITION. 


the  West-of-England  manufacturers  to  secure  the  requisite  propor- 
tion of  each  quality  in  the  goods  they  manufacture  that  they  have 
been  so  signally  successful.  Each  kind,  being  thus  separated,  is 
subjected  to  the  action  of  a  strong  ley,  made  of  stale  urine  and 
soap,  at  a  temperature  of  about  120  degrees.  After  soaking  a 
considerable  time,  according  to  the  requirement  of  the  wool,  it  is 
rinsed  in  cold  water.  It  is  then  pressed  by  passing  through  rollers, 
and  the  result  is  to  remove,  not  only  the  dirt,  water  and  discolor- 
ing matter  from  the  wool,  but,  what  is  of  equal  importance,  the 
natural  grease  as  well.  If  this  operation  be  not  well  done,  all 
subsequent  operations  will  be  impeded.  The  quantity  of  soap 
used  in  England  for  the  cleansing  of  wool  amounts  to  over  four- 
teen million  lbs.  a  year. 

The  next  operation  is  dyeing-,  when  it  is  intended  to  make 
cloth  dyed  in  the  wool.  The  usual  proportions  for  a  good  black 
dye  for  every  one  hundred  pounds  of  wool,  previously  indigoed, 
are  five  pounds  of  copperas,  five  pounds  of  nutgalls,  bruised,  and 
thirty  pounds  of  logwood.  The  wool  is  first  dipped  in  the  solu- 
tion of  gall,  and  is  then  passed  through  the  decoction  of  logwood, 
in  which  the  copperas  is  dissolved.  Pyrolignite  of  iron  is  used 
to  fix  the  black  dye. 

Willy ing  or  willowing  is  performed  next.  It  disentangles  the 
locks  of  wool  and  cleanses  it  from  sand  and  all  loose  dirt.  The 
machine  used  for  this  purpose  is  a  kind  of  hollow  truncated  cone, 
having  an  axis  running  through  its  centre.  On  this  axis  are  fixed 
three  wheels  of  different  diameters,  bearing  on  their  circumference 
four  longitudinal  bars  studded  with  sharp  spikes.  The  cone  re- 
volves with  the  rapidity  of  three  or  four  hundred  revolutions  a 
minute,  within  an  outer  cylindrical  casing,  the  inner  surface  of 
which  is  armed  with  similar  spikes.  The  machine  is  fed  by  means 
of  an  endless  cloth  or  creeper,  with  wool,  which  enters  at  the  small 
end  of  the  cone,  and  travels  to  the  largest  end  by  virtue  of  the 
centrifugal  force  produced  by  the  rotation.  As  it  passes  onward 
between  and  among  the  spikes,  it  becomes  opened  and  disen- 
tangled, the  fibres  of  each  lock  separated,  and  the  impurities  de- 
tached. But  this  is  not  all.  When  the  wool  has  reached  the 
lower  end  of  the  cone,  it  passes  into  a  receptacle  where  a  fan  is 
revolving  with  great  rapidity,  by  which  a  current  of  air  is  gen- 


WOOL  AND  WOOLLEN  MANUFACTURES.  223 


erated,  sufficient  to  blow  away  all  the  dust  mixed  with  the 
wool ;  while  at  the  same  time  a  kind  of  revolving  cage  distri- 
butes the  wool  in  a  flat,  equable  layer.  The  inferior  kind  of 
wool  requires  to  undergo  this  process  several  times,  but  once  is 
sufficient  for  the  finer  qualities.  These  layers  are  carefully  ex- 
amined by  wool-pickers,  who  remove  whatever  objectionable 
particles  may  have  been  left  by  the  willy. 

The  wool  is  next  spread  over  a  floor  and  sprinkled  with  olive 
oil.  It  is  in  this  process  that  milk  is  now  used  in  Yorkshire  so 
extensively.  The  wool  in  this  state  is  well  beaten  with  staves. 
It  is  then  passed  on  the  scribbling  machine ,  which  consists  of 
several  cylinders  covered  with  bent  teeth  or  cards.  The  teeth 
of  one  cylinder  are  bent  in  the  contrary  direction  to  those  of  the 
cylinder  against  which  it  works  ;  so  that  when  all  the  cylinders 
are  revolving  and  wool  is  applied  to  the  first  by  a  creeper,  it  is 
caught  from  tooth  to  tooth,  carried  rapidly  from  cylinder  to  cy- 
linder, separated  completely  from  all  entanglement,  and  finally 
given  forth  in  a  delicate  sheet  or  fleece.  It  becomes  wound  on  a 
revolving  roller  after  having  passed  through  the  scribbling  ma- 
chine. It  then  goes  through  the  carding-engine,  consisting  of  a 
great  number  of  cylinders  and  finer  teeth  or  cards,  and  it  finally 
comes  out  in  the  form  of  a  slender  rope  of  about  an  inch  wide,  the 
wool  adhering  together  by  its  own  tenacity,  which  is  consider- 
ably increased  by  the  oil  it  now  contains.  Delicate  almost  as  a 
spider's  web  is  this  first  form  of  manufactured  wool.  This  slender 
rope  or  pipe  of  wool  is  passed  on  to  the  "  slubbing  billy,"  by 
which  it  is  spun  into  a  very  soft  yarn.  It  is  then  subjected  to 
the  spinning  jenny  or  mule-spinning  machine,  by  which  it  is  con- 
siderably elongated,  and  spun  into  very  fine  yarn.  We  shall  treat 
of  this  ingenious  mechanism  when  we  come  to  describe  the  manu- 
facture of  cotton  goods.  The  wool  has  now  become  yam  wound 
on  large  bobbins  or  reels.  } 

The  yarn  is  next  sized,  so  as  to  produce  the  requisite  stiffness 
and  distinctness  for  wearing.  Hand-loom-weaving  has  long  been 
adhered  to  by  the  woollen  manufacturers,  but  power-loom  is 
rapidly  superseding  this  slow  process  in  almost  every  department 
of  the  woollen  manufacture.  The  loom  is  set  for  cloth  consider- 
ably wider  than  the  finished  goods,  in  order  to  allow  for  the 


224 


THE  GREAT  EXHIBITION. 


shrinking  produced  by  the  fulling  process.  The  list  on  each  side 
of  the  piece  of  cloth  is  made  of  coarse  yarn. 

The  cloth  is  next  subjected  to  the  scouring  process.  It  is 
placed  in  a  wooden  trough,  soap  and  water  are  let  in,  and  wooden 
mallets  are  employed  to  beat  it  until  clean.  It  is  then  rinsed  in 
clean  water,  and  if  not  dyed  in  the  wool,  is  then  dyed. 

Fulling  or  felting  is  the  next  important  process.  It  is  in  this 
operation  that  that  peculiar  body  and  consistency  are  produced,  for 
which  the  West-of-England  cloth  is  esteemed.  In  this  process  the 
necessity  for  well  assorted  wool  becomes  peculiarly  apparent. 
Unless  the  wool  possesses  naturally  a  felting  quality,  no  beating 
will  ever  cause  it  to  become  so  united  as  to  form  one  solid  body. 
Microscopic  discoveries  have  been  made  within  the  last  few  years, 
which  have  led  to  a  revelation  of  much  of  the  mystery  of  felting. 
Examined  through  a  powerful  microscope,  the  short  fibre  exhibits 
the  appearance  of  a  continuous  vegetable  growth,  from  which 
there  are  sprouting,  (and  all  tending  in  one  direction  from  the  root 
to  the  other  extremities,)  numerous  leaves  like  calices  or  cups, 
each  terminating  in  a  short  point.  It  is  easy  to  perceive  how 
easily  one  of  these  fibres  will  move  in  the  direction  from  root  to 
point,  while  its  retraction  must  be  difficult  being  obstructed  by 
the  tendency  of  the  little  branches.  In  a  fibre  of  merino  wool, 
the  number  of  these  serrations  or  projections  amounted  to  2,400 
in  the  space  of  one  inch.  In  a  fibre  of  Saxon  wool  of  acknow- 
ledged superior  felting  quality,  there  were  2,720  serrations. 
South  Down's  wool,  being  inferior  to  these  two  for  felting  power, 
only  contained  2,080  serrations  in  one  inch  of  fibre,  while  Lei- 
cester wool  contained  no  more  than  1,860  in  one  inch,  and  Lei- 
cester wool  is  known  to  be  but  little  adapted  for  felting  purposes. 
In  order  that  these  peculiar  fibres  may  be  compelled  to  embrace 
each  other,  so  as  to  become  consolidated  into  one  mass,  the  cloth 
is  subjected  to  the  following  operation  :  a  large  mass  of  cloth  is 
folded  into  many  piles  and  put  into  the  fulling-mill,  where  it  is 
subjected  to  the  action  of  two  heavy  wooden-mallets  or  stocks. 
The  superfine  cloth  has  four  fallings  of  three  hours  each,  with  a 
thick  solution  of  Castile  soap,  spread  between  each  layer  of  cloth 
each  time.  During  these  violent  concussions,  the  fibres  are  driven 
into  the  closest  possible  contact  with  each  other,  and  those  little 


"WOOL  AND  WOOLLEN  MANUFACTURES.  225 

serrations  become  inextricably  united,  and  each  thread,  both  of 
warp  and  weft,  is  so  compacted  with  those  that  are  contiguous  to 
it,  that  the  whole  seems  formed  into  one  substance,  not  liable, 
like  other  woven  goods,  to  unravel  when  cut  with  the  scissors. 
In  this  process  cloth  is  thickened  considerably,  but  diminished  in 
length  and  breadth.    It  feels  like  chamois  leather. 

Teazling,  or  raising,  is  the  next  process.  Teazles  are  the 
seed-pods  of  the  dipaacus  fullonum,  having  small  hooked  points 
on  the  surfaces.  Various  attempts  have  been  made  to  substi- 
tute metallic  points  for  these  vegetable  brushes ;  but  nothing 
has  yet  been  found  to  answer  the  purpose  so  well  as  the  natu- 
ral teazle.  Efforts  have  been  made  to  monopolize  the  growth 
of  teazles  in  the  west  of  England,  their  value  for  this  particular 
operation  being  well  known.  They  will  grow,  however,  on  any 
soil,  but  are  best  suited  to  a  loam  after  grass.  Every  piece  of 
cloth  wears  up  from  fifteen  hundred  to  two  thousand  teazles. 
The  reason  why  they  answrer  better  than  steel  wire  is,  what  at 
first  sight  would  appear  to  be  their  greatest  disadvantage,  their 
weakness.  When  the  steel  wire  hook  substitute  for  the  teazle 
catches  on  the  cloth,  it  tears  it  and  perhaps  makes  a  hole  in  the 
piece,  while,  when  the  teazle  catches  the  cloth,  it  gives  way  and 
saves  the  piece.  The  teazles  are  fixed  round  a  cylinder  so  as 
to  form  even  cords,  or  brushes,  and  these  revolve  against  the 
surface  of  the  cloth  wrhich  is  stretched  against  the  teazle  cylin- 
der by  means  of  rollers,  round  which  it  is  drawn.  There  is  a 
small  cylinder  of  similar  construction  so  adjusted  against  the 
surface  of  the  large  cylinder  as  to  clean,  the  wool  from  the  tea- 
zles.   This  machine  is  called  the  gig-mill. 

The  shearing  is  performed  by  a  revolving  cylinder  on  which 
are  placed  knives  of  a  worm-like  and  sloping  form  so  as  to  come 
in  contact  with  other  knives  fixed  in  such  a  position  as  to  re- 
semble the  action  of  shears.  The  cloth  passes  lightly  through 
this  machine,  after  which  it  is  put  upon  rollers  and  subjected  to 
the  action  of  steam,  which  increases  its  firmness,  and  imparts  a 
brilliant  lustre  to  the  surface.  It  is  again  teazled  and  sheared, 
which  process  is  repeated  several  times  until  its  surface  is 
worked  down  to  a  close,  thick,  and  short  nap.  It  is  then  sub- 
jected to  the  process  of  steaming  and  brushing  at  the  same 

10* 


226 


THE  GREAT  EXHIBITION. 


time.  It  is  then  stretched  upon  tenter-hooks  and  racks  in  the 
open  air,  brushed,  and  allowed  to  dry.  It  is  afterward  subject- 
ed to  hydraulic  pressure.  The  press  plates  being  heated  by 
steam,  the  whole  piece  of  cloth,  which  is  placed  between  glazed 
press-boards,  is  made  thoroughly  hot  while  subject  to  the  pres- 
sure.   It  is  then  packed  for  market. 

Attempts  have  long  been  made  to  make  felting  supersede 
spinning  and  weaving.  It  has  succeeded  in  reference  to  the 
manufacture  of  hats,  in  which  rabbit's  down  is  also  a  material 
of  large  consumption.  It  has  also  succeeded  with  regard  to 
beavers  and  other  heavy  goods ;  but  its  application  to  super- 
fine cloth  remains,  at  present,  an  object  of  interesting  experi- 
ment, the  successs  of  which  is  doubtful.  The  greatest  objection 
to  the  specimens  we  have  seen,  is  the  want  of  that  elasticity 
which  is  so  important  an  element  in  all  cloths  used  for  close- 
fitting  garments.  But  there  are  many  purposes  to  which  fine 
felt  may  be  applied,  such  as  shawls,  cloaks,  loose  overcoats, 
aria  all  garments  on  which  there  is  no  particular  stretch.  The 
greatest  perfection  yet  attained  in  the  felting  art,  is  due  to  the 
exertions  of  the  Union  Manufacturing  Company,  Norwalk, 
Conn.  The  process  of  manufacturing  felts  adopted  by  this 
Company,  is  different  to  that  of  any  other  manufacturers  we 
have  heard  of.  A  number  of  the  fine  webs  of  wool  from  the 
carding  engine  are  drawn  over  a  smooth  metallic  bed,  covering 
a  surface  proportionate  to  the  width  of  the  piece.  The  first 
layer  is  succeeded  by  a  cross  layer  of  a  similar  character ;  this 
is  succeeded  by  another  lengthwise,  and  then  another  across, 
repeating  the  operation  t^ill  the  requisite  thickness  is  attained. 
As  many  as  thirty  layers  are  sometimes  employed  in  the 
manufacture  of  one  thickness  of  felt.  These  layers  are  next 
subject  to  the  action  of  a  large  metallic  beater,  weighing  two 
tuns.  This  beating  is  continued  until  the  wool  is  all  consolida- 
ted into  one  compact  mass  or  felt.  In  some  of  the  goods  the 
wool  is  dyed  first,  and  the  webs  being  alternately  dark  and 
light,  stripes  and  plaids  are  formed,  each  bar  of  color  being 
about  an  inch  and  a  quarter  wide.  The  beavers  and  peter- 
shams manufactured  by  this  Company  exceed  any  thing  of  the 
kind  we  have  seen,  either  at  the  Exhibition  or  elsewhere.  They 


WOOL  AND  WOOLLEN  MANUFACTURES. 


227 


are  heavy,  strong,  and  very  solid.  There  are  also  some  speci- 
mens of  lighter  goods  made  on  the  same  principle  ;  but  either 
the  wool  selected  is  not  of  an  elastic  quality,  or  the  process  is 
not  so  far  completed  as  to  secure  so  much  elasticity  as  is  found 
in  woven  goods.  The  spinning  doubtless  increases  the  elastici- 
ty of  wool,  and  we  are  not  yet  convinced  that  this  contracting 
power  can  be  secured  where  spinning  and  weaving  are  dispensed 
with.  We  tested  the  strength  of  the  thinnest  felt,  and  found 
that  a  needle  pierced  close  to  the  edge  did  not  break  out.  A 
specimen  of  painted  felt  is  exhibited,  which,  if  of  an  indelible 
coloring,  shows  the  applicability  of  the  process"  to  the  manufac- 
ture of  shawls  and  other  light  and  fancy  articles.  Being  free 
from  all  grain  or  thread-marks,  it  receives  the  impression  of  the 
pattern  to  perfection.  The  felted  lamb's  wool  for  linings  to 
gloves  is  admirably  adapted  to  prevent  frost  from  causing 
numbness  in  the  fingers.  The  Union  Manufacturing  Company 
deserve  every  encouragement  for  the  progress  they  have  mfide 
in  the  felting  art,  and  we  are  glad  to  find  their  goods  coming 
into  greater  demand,  especially  their  heavy  beavers  and  peter- 
shams, which  obtained  a  prize  medal  at  the  first  Exhibition  of 
the  Metropolitan  Mechanics'  Institute,  held  at  Washington  last 
spring. 

There  are  also  some  felt  beavers  and  petershams  manufac- 
tured by  Lounsbury.  Bissell  &  Co.,  Norwalk,  Conn.  The  pe- 
tershams are  not  equal  to  those  manufactured  by  the  Union 
Company,  but  there  is  a  piece  of  blue  felt-beaver  which  is  a 
most  excellent,  article,  and  does  credit  to  the  firm.  The  same 
remark  will  apply  to  some  drab  felt  Beavers  by  the  same  man- 
ufacturers. 

The  best  Wool  Bea  vers  in  the  Exhibition  are  undoubtedly 
those  known  as  Carr's  Patent  Beavers,  exhibited  by  Messrs.  F. 
Derby  &  Co.  They  are  manufactured  at  Tiverton,  near  Bath, 
England,  and  are  placed  in  the  English  department.  They 
possess  the  quality  of  resisting  water,  without  being  impervi- 
ous to  the  exhalations  of  the  body.  Their  water-proof  quality  is 
shown  by  a  piece  of  the  cloth  being  placed  in  a  glass  case  with 
several  quarts  of  water  suspended  in  it,  in  which  are  floating 
mock  gold  fish.    The  exhibition  of  these  beavers,  ornamented 


228 


THE  GREAT  EXHIBITION. 


as  they  are  at  the  ends  with  gold  and  tinsel  letters,  form  the 
most  attractive  feature  of  the  English  Woollen  Department. 
There  is  good  reason  for  making  these  articles  showy  and  at- 
tractive, because  they  well  repay  a  careful  inspection ;  and  al- 
though the  first  appearance  raises  expectation,  the  succeeding 
scrutiny  tends  to  increase  our  admiration  rather  than  to  pro- 
duce disappointment.  These  goods  are  of  the  very. highest 
character ;  their  finish  is  quite  consistent  with  their  quality  and 
design ;  they  combine  all  the  requisite  qualifications  of  good 
overcoating,  and  may  be  regarded  as  perfect  of  their  kind. 

We  would  draw  the  attention  of  the  American  manufacturers 
to  these  excellent  cloths,  as  suggesting  a  branch  of  the  business 
which  is  worthy  of  their  increased  exertions.  There  is  a  large 
demand  in  this  country  for  winter  cloths,  and  these  English 
goods  are  commanding  a  very  large  share  of  the  trade.  There 
is  no  reason  why  America  should  not  equal  the  Old  Country 
in  this  particular.  We  have  wool  as  good,  and  looms  as  strong, 
and  men  as  willing  and  intelligent,  and  they  do  not  present  any 
of  those  nice  difficulties  of  finish  which  appertain  to  the  super- 
fine cloths — difficulties  which  experience,  and  a  long  course  of 
steady  perseverance,  can  alone  overcome.  That  these  or  similar 
goods  can  be  produced  in  this  country,  we  have  ample  proof: 
there  is  in  the  American  department  an  exhibition  of  beavers 
manufactured  at  the  Bay-State  Mills,  which  come  as  near  as 
possible  to  the  English  beavers,  containing  all  the  points  neces- 
sary in  good  beaver-cloth,  not  excepting,  we  believe,  the  water- 
proof quality.  If  the  Bay-State  Mills  Company  will  supply  the 
trade  with  the  same  quality  of  goods  as  they  exhibit,  they  will 
be  sure  to  take  the  lead  in  this  important  branch  of  the  woollen 
trade  in  this  country.  We  do  not  think  that  they  have  arrived 
at  the  perfection  of  Carr's  patent  beavers  in  every  particular ; 
but  they  produce  what  convinces  us  that  they  are  well  qualified 
to  take  the  position  we  have  assigned  them,  if  they  will  con- 
tinue their  attention  to  this  class  of  goods,  in  which  they  have 
shown  themselves  eminently  successful. 

There  are  also  some  good  specimens  of  Petersham  felt  ex- 
hibited by  F.  Skinner  &  Co.  of  this  city,  from  the  manufactory 
of  Bissell  &  Co.    The  piece  of  drab  felt  is  unexceptionable, 


WOOL  AND  WOOLLEN  MANUFACTURES. 


229 


and  the  colored  felt  beavers  are  very  creditable  productions. 
There  is  also  a  piece  of  thick  gray  cloth,  which  is  a  perfect 
production  of  its  kind.  It  is  remarkably  well  sheared,  and  so 
strong,  that  one  coat  made  of  it  would  certainly  last  a  long 
lifetime,  if  it  did  not  become  an  hereditary  possession  for  suc- 
cessive generations.  We  are  sorry  we  cannot  record  the  name 
of  the  manufacturer,  the  piece  being  placed,  when  we  examined 
it,  without  a  ticket  to  denote  its  origin.  We  should  not  be 
afraid  to  trust  ourselves  to  its  protection  through  the  longest 
shower  that  ever  cooled  an  American  atmosphere. 

Messrs.  A.  T.  Stewart  &  Co.  exhibit  in  the  English  depart- 
ment an  assortment  of  excellent  overcoating,  in  patent  beavers 
and  reversible  cloth,  one  side  being  mohair  and  the  other  cloth- 
finish.  There  is  also  a  specimen  of  coating  resembling  a  Whit- 
ney blanket  on  one  side,  and  on  the  other  fine  cloth.  This 
is  the  best  display  of  reversibles.  They  are  goods  which  are 
becoming  popular  in  England  for  paletots. 

In  the  Belgian  department  there  is  a  piece  of  beaver  manu- 
factured by  Juan  Simonis,  which  comprises  all  the  character- 
istics of  good  cloth.  It  is  marked  20,317,  and  is  well  worth 
the  careful  attention  of  the  trade. 

On  the  stall  in  the  German  department,  which  has  been  hos- 
pitably afforded  to  Russia,  M.  A.  G.  Thilo,  of  Riga,  has  placed 
some  pilot-cloths  and  beavers,  which  equal  any  we  have  seen 
of  this  description,  with  regard  to  the  quality  of  the  wool  and 
the  excellence  of  spinning  and  weaving.  The  mohair  coatings 
are  peculiarly  Russian,  and  are  more  like  furs  than  cloths. 
Some  appear  to  be  at  least  half  an  inch  in  thickness.  The  dye 
has  all  the  appearance  of  permanence,  and  for  extra-thick  over- 
coats nothing  exceeds  these  Russian  productions. 

At  this  season  of  the  year,  the  heavy  class  of  goods  which 
we  have  been  examining  are  in  great  demand  at  the  wholesale 
houses  where  the  country  merchants  are  busily  selecting  their 
winter  stock.  We  trust  that  their  attention  will  be  directed  to 
a  careful  examination  of  American  productions.  Let  not  the 
established  ideas  on  this  subject  prevent  them  from  appreciating 
cloths  of  good  quality  which  are  made  at  home.    We  know 


230 


THE  GREAT  EXHIBITION. 


there  is  always  a  greater  value  set  upon  far-off  objects — as  if 
the  notion  that 

"  Distance  lends  enchantment  to  the  view," 

applied  to  articles  of  commerce  as  well  as  to  the  objects  of  a 
landscape ;  but  it  is  time  that  a  discriminating  discernment 
and  sound  judgment  should  take  the  place  of  a  prejudice  which 
originated  at  a  time  when  the  American  manufacture  was  in 
its  infancy,  and  when  a  large  class  of  our  citizens  had  all  the 
feelings  of  national  pride  pertaining  to  old  countries  to  contend 
with ;  but  now  that  America  has  added  to  her  natural  resources, 
as  an  agricultural  country,  nearly  all  the  appliances  of  a  great 
manufacturing  community  ;  now  that,  with  a  few  trifling  excep- 
tions only,  her  practical  arts  have  reached  the  height  of  Euro- 
pean civilization,  and  in  some  instances  gone  far  beyond  ;  it 
surely  is  but  reasonable  to  expect  that  her  own  merchants 
and  citizens  should  be  willing  to  encourage,  in  the  most  sub- 
stantial manner,  every  industrial  achievement  of  their  own 
country,  placing  in  the  hands  of  our  own  manufacturers  the 
just  reward  of  their  industry  and  enterprise,  and  enabling  them 
to  pursue,  with  increased  facilities  and  renewed  vigor,  that 
course  of  steady,  intellectual  perseverance,  which,  more  than 
all  political  agitation,  promotes  greatness,  wealth,  and  pros- 
perity. 


WOOL  AND  WOOLLEN  MANUFACTURES. 


XXII. 

WOOL  AND  WOOLLEN  MANUFACTURES. 

[third  article.] 

The  highest  point  at  which  the  Woollen  Manufacture  has 
arrived  is  undoubtedly  that  of  producing  the  best  superfine 
cloth.  The  wearing  of  a  superfine  suit  was  once  a  principal 
mark  of  distinction  in  the  countries  of  Europe  between  a  labor- 
ing man  and  "  a  gentleman."  Of  late  years,  however,  since  the 
manufacture  has  advanced,  prices  lowered,  and  the  condition  of 
.the  people  improved,  this  distinction  has  become  less  conspicu- 
ous. Every  sober  mechanic  has  his  one  or  twro  suits  of  broad- 
cloth, and,  so  far  as  mere  clothes  go,  can  make  as  good  a  dis- 
play, when  he  chooses,  as  what  are  called  the  upper  classes.  It 
is  in  this  way,  that  trade,  commerce,  and  individual  comfort,  as 
well  as  social  improvement,  are  advanced  by  the  progress  of 
mechanical  invention.  A  good  article  produced  at  a  low  price 
commands  an  extensive  sale,  and  benefits  the  whole  commu- 
nity. Millions  of  men,  such  as  in  times  past  would  never  have 
dreamed  that  they  could  afford  to  indulge  in  good  clothes,  are 
now  possessed  of  this  desirable  addition  to  their  personal  pro- 
perty ;  and,  as  one  result,  the  demand  for  such  goods  is  increased 
a  hundred-fold ;  a  trade  has  been  created  by  the  increased  facil- 
ities for  production  which  modern  inventions  have  introduced, 
and  manufacturers  and  merchants  are  all  reaping  advantages' 
while  the  community  at  large  is  better  and  more  respectably 
clothed. 

In  the  American  Department  we  were  highly  gratified  to  see 
several  pieces  of  black  cloth,  manufactured  by  Messrs.  Slater 
&  Son,  of  Webster,  Mass.,  for  which  prize-medals  were  awarded 
in  the  London  Exhibition,  when  shown  in  contrast  with  English 
and  French  production.    These  choice  specimens  of  cloth  were 


232 


THE  GREAT  EXHIBITION. 


manufactured  from  American  fleece-wool.  Their  quality  is, 
beyond  doubt,  of  the  best  character.  The  wool  is  well  selected 
and  well  cleaned;  the  spinning  is  strong;  but  the  fulling  in 
some  places  is  not  quite  so  compact  as  is  desirable.  The  cloth, 
however,  is  flexible  and  elastic.  The  only  point  in  which  we 
could  discover  any  material  difference  between  this  and  French 
or  English  cloth  is  in  the  length  of  the  nap.  It  is  a  little  too 
long.  The  French  are  the  most  perfect  in  this  particular. 
They  spin  such  a  fine  yarn,  that  they  can  raise  the  finest  nap, 
and  then  shear  so  close  to  the  fabric  as  to  give  permanence  to 
the  finish.  The  English  cloths  come  next  to  the  French  in  this 
respect,  and  the  German  next.  Now,  while  in  most  other 
particulars  the  cloths  of  Messrs.  Slater  &  Sons  resemble  the 
English  and  French  goods,  in  the  matter  of  finish  and  length  of 
nap  they  resemble  the  general  character  of  German  goods.  The 
finishing  process  has  probably  been  a  little  too  rapid ;  an  addi- 
tional teazling,  so  as  to  lay  the  nap  all  one  way  more  com- 
pletely, if  we  may  judge  from  the  strength  and  excellence  of 
the  spinning  and  weaving,  would  have  rendered  some  of  these 
cloths  equal  to  the  best  goods  of  this  character. 

There  are  some  cloths  exhibited  by  Messrs.  Barnes,  Bowers 
&  Beekman,  manufactured  at  the  Kelloggs'  Mills,  Skaneateles, 
Onondaga  County,  N.  Y.,  which  deserve  special  notice.  The 
cassimeres  are  equal,  in  quality  of  wool,  and  excellence  of  finish, 
to  any  foreign  goods.  The  nap  is  well  raised  and  sheared.  A 
little  more  pliability  and  elasticity,  however,  would  be  an  im- 
provement. There  is  a  feel  about  them  resembling  that  of 
leather,  and  they  smell  somewhat  of  the  sheep.  The  oil  of  the 
sheep  is  evidently  not  entirely  removed  in  the  scouring  pro- 
cesses. This  remark  applies  also  to  the  silk-warp  tweeds  and 
silk  and  wool  cassimeres  from  the  same  manufactory.  They 
are  in  every  other  respect  highly  creditable  productions,  and 
such  as  do  honor  to  the  American  manufacture. 

There  is  a  piece  of  doeskin,  manufactured  by  the  Middlesex 
Company,  Lowell,  numbered  811,537,  which  is  fairly  com- 
parable with  any  foreign  doeskin.  It  is  most  creditable  to  the 
Company. 

The  Cassimeres  of  the  Bay  State  Mills  are,  like  their  beavers, 


WOOL  AND  WOOLLEN  MANUFACTURES.  233 


peculiarly  English  in  their  character.  The  piece  of  chocolate 
color  is  excellent.  There  would  be  no  difficulty  in  disposing 
of  these  goods  as  British  productions.  The  Company  deserve 
great  credit  for  the  perfection  to  which  they  have  brought  the 
manufacture  of  American  cassimeres. 

The  Fancy  Cassimeres,  manufactured  by  the  Broad  Brook 
Company,  stand  high  in  our  estimation.  They  are  in  square 
blocks  and  check  patterns.  They  resemble  in  appearance  and 
smell  English  goods,  and,  had  they  been  labelled  as  such,  we 
should  never  have  discovered  them  to  be  otherwise.  There  is 
a  piece  of  Jacquard  goods  which  appears  quite  equal  to  any  Eng- 
lish cassimere  we  have  seen.  If  these  goods  were  brought  into 
the  market  as  American  goods,  and  recommended  by  respect- 
able tailors  as  such,  and  sold  at  a  less  price  than  imported 
goods  of  similar  quality,  they  would  do  very  much  to  destroy 
the  prejudice  against  American  woollens. 

Air.  Edward  S.  Hall,  of  Millville,  Mass.,  exhibits  some  very 
creditable  fancy  cassimeres  of  English  patterns,  and,  we  may 
add,  of  English  quality.  There  are  also  some  in  French  pat- 
terns of  the  latest  fashion,  single  and  double  milled.  They  are 
manufactured  by  the  Millville  Company. 

Messrs.  J.  Wetherell  Brothers,  of  Wetherellville,  Mass.,  display 
some  black  cassimeres  and  doeskins  which  are  remarkably  well 
finished.  The  nap  is  short,  and  the  spinning  and  weaving  fine 
and  close,  so  that  the  cloth  loses  nothing  in  appearance  by  the 
shortness  of  the  nap,  w7hile  the  finish  will  be  the  more  permanent. 

The  fancy  check  cassimeres  of  Messrs.  Jacob  T.  Seagrave  & 
Co.,  are  very  superior  in  every  respect,  showing  good  taste  in 
patterns  and  excellent  workmanship.  The  mouse-colored  doe- 
skin is  well  finished,  pliable  and  elastic.  It  is  an  unexceptional  Liu 
piece  of  goods  for  all  the  purposes  intended.  We  are  glad,  how. 
ever,  to  be  able  to  speak  most  favorably  of  Messrs.  Platner  & 
Smith's  other  productions.  We  refer  to  their  cloudy  satinets, 
made  of  cotton  warp  and  wool  fillings.  They  are  evidently  more 
in  their  line  ;  and  in  contrast  with  articles  of  this  class  made  in 
America  twenty  years  ago,  they  exhibit  a  true  picture  of  the  rapid 
growth  of  manufacturing  art  in  this  country.  The  productions 
of  former  years  were  rough,  stiff  and  coarse,  whilst  these  are  per- 


234 


THE  GREAT  EXHIBITION. 


fectly  smooth  and  pliable.  The  former  harshness  of  face  is  en- 
tirely removed  and  they  now  nearly  resemble  the  French  cassi- 
meres.  Their  cassimeres  in  plaids  and  boot  patterns,  and  also 
those  in  plain  colors,  including  the  twilled  pearl  drab  in  two 
shades,  are  very  closely  woven  and  sheared.  There  is  no  doubt 
they  would  wear  well. 

Juan  Simonis  displays  in  the  Belgian  Department  the  finest 
broadcloths  we  have  seen  in  the  Crystal  Palace.  We  may  say 
they  excel  in  every  feature.  Although  the  exhibition  of  Belgian 
goods  is  limited,  it  presents  a  rich  variety.  The  colored  broad- 
cloths, especially  apiece  of  blue  marked  19,536,  are  exquisitely 
finished,  and  deserve  all  the  commendation  that  can  be  bestowed 
upon  any  manufactured  production. 

Chenest  &  Buisson,  of  Bischeviller,  exhibit  in  the  French  De- 
partment several  pieces  of  colored  Thibet  doeskins,  six-quarters 
wide.  They  are  well  adapted  for  summer  wear  in  this  country. 
The  colors  are  good  and  the  manufacture  excellent.  There  are 
also  from  the  same  manufacture,  black  and  blue  "  Amazon  cloth,'* 
which  is  a  good  sample  of  French  manufacture. 

M.  Paret,  of  Sedan,  Ardennes,  exhibits  a  good  assortment  of 
cassimeres  and  doeskins,  of  first-rate  French  quality  ;  also,  some 
brilliant  red  cloth  for  military  purposes,  and  cloth  for  billiard- 
tables.    The  coloring  cannot  be  surpassed. 

Mr.  F.  A.  Reichard  also  exhibits  some  kerseymere  cloths  and 
zephyr  cloths  of  various  colors.  Those  who  wish  to  understand 
the  superior  finish  peculiar  to  French  cloths,  should  examine  these 
goods.  There  is  a  piece  of  brown  cloth  on  this  stand  which  is 
soft  and  yet  solid,  strong  and  yet  light,  glossy  but  not  long- 
napped.    It  is  a  first-rate  production  of  its  kind. 

Legrix  &  Bruyant,  of  Elbeuf,  exhibit  some  good  fancy  cassi- 
meres. Also  some  well  worked  cloth  vestings.  Some  patterns 
represent  sporting  scenes,  of  various  degrees  of  cruelty.  The  dis- 
play of  vestings  is  large,  and  exhibits  considerable  taste — such, 
indeed,  as  might  be  expected  from  France.  But,  as  a  whole,  the 
French  Department  is  very  limited  in  the  display  of  woollen 
goods,  and  must  not  be  taken  as  a  true  or  complete  exposition  of 
French  industry  in  this  branch  of  manufacture. 

Compared  with  the  extent  of  our  trade  with  England,  the  ex- 


WOOL  AND  WOOLLEN  MANUFACTURES. 


235 


hibition  of  English  goods  is  exceedingly  deficient.  The  York- 
shire trade  in  particular  is  barely  represented.  It  may  be  that 
the  traders  in  Yorkshire  goods  are  too  well  aware  of  their  quality, 
to  submit  them  to  the  scrutiny  of  critics  at  the  World's  Fair, 
fearing  that  their  real  qualities  should  be  made  known. 

Messrs.  Derby  &  Co.  in  addition  to  their  unrivalled  display  of 
beavers,  exhibit  some  good  English  cassimeres,  such  as  are  in 
common  use,  and  are  well  known  to  the  trade  in  this  country. 
They  have  also  favored  us  with  a  sight  of  some  West-of-England 
prize  goods,  those  which  won  the  highest  prize  at  the  Exhibition 
in  London — the  quality  of  which  cannot  be  surpassed.  They  are 
manufactured  of  the  finest  wool,  collected  from  the  backs  of  a 
great  many  sheep,  each  animal  furnishing  but  a  very  small  quan- 
tity of  such  exquisite  fineness.  Such  cloth  as  this  could  not  be 
brought  into  common  use,  because  the  supply  of  such  wool  is  too 
limited,  and  the  cost  would  be  enormous. 

Messrs.  Babcock,  Milnor  &  Co.,  exhibit  some  splendid  piece- 
goods  manufactured  by  Henry  Pease  &  Co.,  Darlington,  Dur- 
ham. The  silk-warp  coatings  are  well  colored,  and  in  point  of 
texture  are  equal  to  the  best  French  merinoes. 

Messrs.  Bali  &  Wilson,  of  London,  make  a  good  display  of 
fancy  cassimeres  and  figured  vestings  embroidered  with  silk  on 
cloth  in  various  colors. 

There  are  some  other  good  specimens  of  cloth  of  similar  cha- 
racter to  those  we  have  mentioned,  but  nothing  particularly- 
new  or  worthy  of  comment. 

In  the  German  Department  we  noticed  some  excellent  spe- 
cimens of  cloths  for  ladies'  mantles,  manufactured  by  Augustus 
Hausman,  of  Brandenburg,  on  the  Havel,  Prussia.  There  are 
some  entirely  new  patterns  in  imitation  of  furs.  They  deserve 
special  attention. 

There  is  a  peculiarity  about  some  German  Broadcloths  which 
is  more  easily  understood  by  their  feel  than  described  by  the 
pen  ;  they  seem  to  the  eye  to  possess  a  long,  soft  nap,  and  yet 
when  examined,  it  is  found  to  be  quite  short.  The  finish  of 
German  broadcloth  is  not  equal  to  that  of  French  goods  of  sim- 
ilar quality,  but  it  is  more  lasting,  especially  with  regard  to 
colored  cloths. 


236 


THE  GREAT  EXHIBITION. 


O.  C.  &  H.  Tschille,  Frankfort-on-the-Oder,  Prussia,  exhibit 
some  excellent  Saxony  fine  Cloths.  One  piece  marked  85,  and 
another  marked  87,  appear  to  be  the  strongest  fine  broadcloth 
we  have  seen.  The  finish  must  be  of  the  most  abiding  nature, 
and  the  color  is  excellent.  These  pieces  do  great  credit  to  the 
Prussian  manufacture. 

Messrs.  Schoedler  &  Son,  of  Leipsic,  Saxony,  display  a  mag- 
nificent piece  of  light  drab  cloth.  It  resembles  velvet  for  soft- 
ness, and  the  finish  is  unexceptionable. 

Messrs.  Foistman  &  Huffman,  Werden-on-Euhr,  Prussia,  are 
large  manufacturers  for  the  American  market.  So  well  known 
are  their  goods,  that  they  are  commonly  called  F.  &  H.  goods, 
and  are  considered  to  be  among  the  best  of  the  foreign  goods 
brought  to  America.  They  combine  fineness  of  finish  with  that 
enduring  quality  which  secures  a  permanent  character  in  the 
trade.  They  are  exceedingly  pliable,  well  cleaned,  well  shear- 
ed, and  finished  with  excellent  effect. 

Messrs.  Ridner,  Thiel  &  Co.,  exhibit  a  piece  of  cloth,  (No. 
28,088,)  which  will  compare  favorably  with  any  goods  in  the 
Exhibition.  It  is  manufactured  by  F.  A.  Barmann,  of  Gold- 
berg, Silesia,  who  evidently  understands  cloth  manufacture  to 
perfection. 

There  is  some  good  black  cloth  exhibited  by  J.  B.  Meyer ; 
the  piece  marked  27,680  is  of  a  superior  quality  and  remarka- 
bly firm  and  strong.  Similar  remarks  might  be  made  of  more 
than  fifty  exhibitors  in  the  German  department.  For  quantity, 
the  German  States  stand  unrivalled  in  the  Exhibition  ;  but.  ex- 
cept the  goods  we  have  enumerated,  there  is  nothing  particu- 
larly worthy  of  note,  the  general  good  qualities  of  German 
goods  being  well  known  in  the  United  States. 

The  following  is  the  value  of  foreign  imports  in  cloths  and 
cassimeres  for  the  year  ending  June  30,  1852: 

England    $3,391,568 

France  on  the  Atlantic.  1,735,530 

Hanse  Towns   1,3 18,1 34 

Belgium   444,987 

Scotland   10,324 


Holland   $7,928 

Canada   997 

Chili    254 

China   20 


Total  $6,909,742 

The  lighter  class  of  woollen  goods,  adapted  for  ladies'  dresses, 


WOOL  AND  WOOLLEN  MANUFACTURES.  237 


deserves  a  passing  notice.  There  is  more  scope  for  artistic 
skill  in  this  department  of  woollen  manufacture,  and  the  pro- 
gress made  in  this  country  in  this  complex  class  of  goods  is 
truly  encouraging. 

There  are  some  printed  Mousseline  de  Laines  by  J.  Dannell 
&  Co.,  Providence,  which  are  good  of  the  kind,  but  do  not  con- 
trast favorably  with  those  in  the  opposite  case,  "printed  with 
copper  shells,"  by  the  Hamilton  Woollen  Company,  South- 
bridge,  Mass.  The  Cashmeres  of  this  Company  are  excellent 
both  in  pattern  and  color ;  and  we  were  particularly  pleased 
with  some  Plaids  of  a  novel  style,  with  brilliant  and  variegated 
colors.  The  Mousseline  de  Laines  of  this  Company  show  the 
extent  to  which  America  has  arrived  in  this  department  of  cop- 
per-printing. It  is  gratifying  to  us  to  be  able  to  record  the 
complete  success  of  this  branch  of  artistic  manufacture,  and  we 
congratulate  the  Company  on  taking  the  lead  in  this  respect. 
There  are  some  patterns  of  birds  brought  out  to  the  life.  Land- 
scape-printing, even,  is  not  neglected,  and  we  have  a  view  of  a 
castle,  and  trees,  and  various  colored  flowers,  done  with  great' 
taste  and  good  artistic  effect. 

The  Cashmerets  of  the  Chelmsford  Company,  West  Chelms- 
ford, Mass.,  are  well  made  articles,  and  could  not  be  distin- 
guished from  English  goods.  Their  patterns  of  cloth  exhibit  an 
extensive  assortment  of  colors,  and  show  the  resources  of  the 
Company  to  be  considerable. 

Messrs.  McGregor,  Simpson  &  Co.,  exhibit  some  very  fine 
Cashmerets.  The  colors  are  good,  and  the  fabric  well  manu- 
factured. 

The  Philadelphia  Print  Works  have  a  large  display  of  printed 
patterns,  which  show  excellent  taste  in  design.  They  closely 
resemble  woven  patterns. 

In  the  same  case  in  which  Messrs.  Snelling,  Parker,  Wilder 
&  Co.,  show  their  fancy  blankets,  were  some  Wool  Shawls  em- 
broidered with  silk.  One  is  crimson  wool,  with  a  silk  embroi- 
dered vine  of  the  same  color,  and  green  and  gold-colored  flow- 
ers. Another  is  of  a  green  ground,  with  zephyr  worsted  em- 
broidery, beautifully  shaded  in  leaves  and  flowers,  of  various 
colors.    Another  is  scarlet,  with  silk  of  the  same  color  for  the 


288 


THE  GREAT  EXHIBITION". 


vine  and  flowers.  The  last  is  the  blue,  with  blue  silk  vine 
and  orange-colored  blossoms.  They  appeared  to  be  entirely 
new  designs.  They  have  been  recently  removed  from  the  case 
in  order  to  show  the  embroidered  blankets  to  greater  advantage, 
and  are  now  exhibited  in  a  case  above,  where  they  make  a  good 
display.  Their  novelty  and  the  taste  they  exhibit,  render  them 
worthy  of  particular  remembrance. 

Messrs.  James  Roy  &  Co.,  of  Watervliet  Mills,  N.  Y.,  dis- 
play a  splendid  case  of  woollen  shawls,  somewhat  novel  in  their 
character.  They  are  plaids  or  "  Rob  Roys."  They  are  of 
great  brilliancy  of  color,  and  could  not  be  excelled  even  at  Pais- 
ley for  their  beauty  and  quality. 

Hotchkissville  Shawls  form  an  ornamental  and  novel  feature 
of  the  American  Department.  They  are  manufactured  in  imi- 
tation of  French  cashmere,  and  their  newel ty  consists  in  the 
rounded  character  of  their  corner  patterns,  the  effect  of  which 
is  highly  commendable. 

There  is  a  beautiful  display  of  Shawls  in  the  English  Depart- 
ment, manufactured  by  W.  Bliss,  of  Chipping  Norton,  Oxon. 
They  are  of  a  quiet  English  pattern  and  excellent  make. 

In  the  German  Department  south-west  Gallery,  is  a  beautiful 
display  of  Zephyr  Berlin  Wool  Yarns,  exhibiting  all  the  varie- 
ties of  color,  with  their  graduating  shades,  amounting  to  nearly 
one  thousand  five  hundred  tints.  It  is  so  arranged  as  to  show 
the  colors  to  the  greatest  advantage,  in  all  their  unrivalled  depth 
and  softness.  These  samples  are  from  the  manufactory  of 
Messrs.  Bergmann  &  Co.,  Berlin,  Prussia,  and  their  harmonious 
arrangement  is  due  to  their  agents,  Messrs.  Meyer  &  Stucken, 
of  this  City.  The  use  of  Berlin  wool  or  yarn  has  long  been  a 
favorite  occupation  of  English  ladies,  and  a  very  large  business 
is  done  in  supplying  their  wants  in  this  respect. 

In  the  French  Department  there  are  several  good  studies  for 
the  American  manufacturer.  There  are  some  superior  figured 
fabrics  for  ladies'  dresses,  plain  corded  worsteds  and  figured 
merino  goods.  In  this  Department  America  is  at  present  very 
far  behind  the  European  manufacturers.  There  is  nothing  of 
American  productions  at  all  to  be  compared  with  the  specimens 
of  merinoes  exhibited  by  A.  Rogues,  and  if  we  are  to  judge  from 


WOOL  AND  WOOLLEN  MANUFACTURES. 


this  exhibition,  it  does  not  appear  that  there  have  been  any  suc- 
cessful attempts  to  compete  in  this  line  with  our  foreign  sup- 
plies. The  colors  and  texture  of  these  goods  deserve  and  will 
bear  the  closest  attention. 

M.  Edward  Hartwick,  Rue  du  Mail,  Paris,  exhibits  three 
patterns  for  Cashmere  Shawls,  beautifully  printed,  though  of 
very  ugly  design  :  one  represents  a  lion,  lioness  and  cubs,  and 
on  one  side  a  lioness  hunted  and  caught  by  the  bloodhounds, 
with  a  spear  running  through  her  body,  and  on  the  other  side  is 
a  wild  boar  attacked  by  the  hounds. 

The  following  is  the  value  of  foreign  imports  in  Merino  and 
other  Woollen  Shawls,  in  the  year  ending  June  30,  1852,  from 

England,  .  $426,896    Brazil,   $55 

France  on  the  Atlantic,  165,113    Canada,   8 

Hanse  Towns,  v  . .  72,254   

Scotland,   51,488  Total,  $715,814 

Great  credit  is  due  to  the  American  manufacturers  for  the 
progress  they  have  made  within  a  few  years  in  the  various  divi- 
sions of  this  useful  and  ornamental  branch  of  manufacturing 
industry,  and,  while  we  have  endeavored  to  accord  to  each  his 
share  of  honor,  we  have  not  hesitated  to  point  out  defects  where 
wTe  found  them  to  exist.  We  have  done  this  on  the  principle 
that  the  best  friend  is  not  the  flatterer,  but  he  who  helps  us  to 
discover  our  imperfections,  with  a  view  to  their  removal. 


240 


THE  GREAT  EXHIBITION. 


XXIII. 

BOOTS  AND  SHOES. 

The  manufacture  of  Boots  and  Shoes,  like  that  of  the  material 
from  which  they  are  made,  has  as  yet  derived  but  little  aid  from 
the  inventive  faculties  of  man.  The  tanner  still  adheres  to  the 
ancient  process  practised  in  the  time  of  Simon  of  Joppa  ;  and  the 
ne  sutor  ultra  crejpidam  seems  to  have  formed  an  eternal  barrier 
to  improvement  on  the  mind  of  the  shoe-maker.  The  Crispin  of 
the  present  day  we  take  to  be  pretty  much  the  same  sort  of  rumi- 
nating animal  as  he  that  heel-tapped  the  sandals  of  Herod,  for  he 
chews  the  cud  of  his  reflections  without  apparently  growing  wiser. 
How  he  can  sit  hammering  and  pegging  away  from  year's  end  to 
year's  end  without  either  originating  an  idea,  or  borrowing  a  sug- 
gestion for  the  curtailment  of  his  labor,  is  a  puzzle  to  those  who 
have  no  faith  in  the  metempsychosis.  For  our  own  part  we  have 
always  looked  upon  him  as  the  envelope  of  some  condemned  spirit 
that  once  fretted  the  world  with  its  activity.  No  greater  purga- 
tory could  have  been  devised  for  the  soul  of  an  ambitious  war- 
rior or  meddling  statesman. 

One  would  suppose  from  this  dead-lock  on  the  progress  of  the 
art  of  shoe-making  since  the  time  of  Moses,  that  it  had  reached 
perfection  at  that  respectable  era.  That  there  are  plenty  of  gouty 
brokers,  and  irritable  dowagers,  who  are  ready  to  testify  that  there 
is  still  room  for  improvement.  If  all  the  tortures  they  have  suf- 
fered from  pedal  constriction  could  be  carried  over  to  the  credit 
side  of  the  Great  Ledger  which  contains  their  last  account,  we 
expect  that  the  balance  against  them  would  be  very  small. 
Shoemakers  are  in  fact  the  greatest  scourges  of  humanity.  The 
peine  forte  et  dure  to  which  they  subject  us,  exceeds  in  atrocity 
all  the  refined  inventions  in  cruelty  resorted  to  in  the  middle  ages. 
The  sweetness  of  an  angel,  or  the  firmness  of  a  stoic,  must  alike 
yield  to  the  agonies  which  they  inflict. 


BOOTS  AND  SHOES. 


241 


The  art  of  shoemaking  may  be  said  to  be  still  in  its  infancy. 
Until  its  professors  discard  their  admiration  for  the  beau  ideal, 
and  apply  themselves  to  the  study  of  nature,  we  do  not  expect  to 
see  any  great  improvement  in  their  works.  If  they  will  persist 
in  showing  a  club-footed  Alderman  like  an  Adonis,  or  a  dropsical 
lady  like  a  Venus  de  Medici,  the  result  must  be  failure  and  un- 
mitigated suffering.  We  cannot  see  why  the  protuberances  of  the 
foot  should  be  treated  less  tenderly  or  scientifically  than  those  of 
the  head.  If  phrenologists  would  only  take  the  trouble  to  seek 
in  the  former,  the  disturbing  causes  which  they  profess  to  find  in 
the  brain,  they  would  more  frequently  arrive  at  the  idiosyncrasy 
of  their  subject.  Compressed  bunions  and  festering  corns1  have 
more  to  do  with  men's  humors  than  these  theorists  dream  of  in 
their  philosophy.  "Were  the  bumps  of  benevolence  ever  so  large, 
they  are  sure  to  be  counteracted  by  the  bosses  on  the  feet.  Let 
them  unite  some  little  knowledge  of  pedology  with  the  study  of 
the  brain,  and  people  will  believe  in  them.  Their  favorite  pur- 
suit will  then  have  some  chance  of  being  classed  among  the  ex- 
act sciences. 

From  what  we  have  stated,  it  is  evident  that  shoemaking  is 
not  a  progressive  art.  Some  attempts  have  been  made  of  late 
years  to  effect  improvements  in  it ;  but  their  authors  having  little 
or  no  knowledge  of  the  practical  difficulties  and  requirements  of 
their  subject,  their  efforts  were  directed  rather  to  expediting  by 
machinery  the  process  of  manufacture  than  to  the  application  of 
scientific  principles  to  the  perfection  of  the  article  produced. 
About  five  and  twenty  years  ago,  the  English  engineer,  Brunei, 
took  out  a  patent  for  the  manufacture  of  boots  and  shoes  by  ma- 
chinery ;  but  it  was  abandoned  almost  as  soon  as  it  was  put  in 
operation,  the  results  proving  that  little  or  no  economy  could  be 
effected  on  the  starvation  prices  at  which  the  .Northampton  and 
Nottingham  goods  could  be  brought  into  the  market.  In  1849, 
the  writer  of  the  present  article  attempted,  in  conjunction  with 
others,  to  work  a  French  patent,  which  consisted  for  the  most 
part  of  modifications  of  Brunei's  invention,  with  the  addition  t)f 
some  new  machinery  which  it  was  hoped  would  meet  the  diffi- 
culties that  had  caused  the  failure  of  the  latter.  A  large  manu- 
factory was  established  in  the  suburbs  of  Paris,  for  the  purpose 

11 


242 


THE  GREAT  EXHIBITION. 


of  submitting  it  to  a  fair  commercial  test ;  but,  like  its  prede- 
cessor, it  failed  in  the  conditions  necessary  to  ensure  successful 
competition  with  the  low-priced  productions  of  the  under-paid 
artisan.  By  this  process,  we  have  seen  a  pair  of  boots  or  shoes 
completed  in  less  than  forty  minutes,  the  different  operations  of 
soling,  heeling,  and  pegging  being  performed  by  a  series  of  simple 
machines,  which  in  these  details  certainly  effected  a  great  econ- 
omy of  labor.  But  there  was  wanting  in  this  invention  some 
mechanical  contrivance  for  curtailing  the  time  and  expense  be- 
stowed on  the  preparation  and  stitching  of  the  upper  leathers, 
which  had  to  be  effected  by  hand,  and  which  in  reality  consti- 
tuted the  most  important  feature  of  the  economical  question  that 
wras  sought  to  be  solved.  The  sewing  machine  which  had  so  long 
formed  a  desideratum  in  the  mechanical  arts,  and  which  had  oc- 
cupied the  attention  of  so  many  ingenious  and  practical  minds, 
had  not  as  yet  been  perfected  ;  and  without  its  aid  it  was  clear 
that  no  important  commercial  results  could  be  secured  from  the 
patent.  Could  it  have  embraced  this  feature,  there  was  no  limit 
to  the  extension  which  it  must  have  attained  ;  the  contracts  of 
the  army  and  navy  could  have  been  easily  secured  ;  the  whole 
of  the  coarser  descriptions  of  goods  consumed  in  the  departments, 
would  have  been  supplied  by  it ;  and,  even  in  the  finer  class  of 
articles,  its  productions  would  have  depreciated  if  not  utterly 
ruined  the  trade  of  the  artisan.  To  work  these  machines,  little 
or  no  previous  knowledge  of  shoemaking  was  required ;  the 
merest  novice  being  able  in  a  few  days  to  acquire  all  the  expe- 
rience necessary  to  produce  a  perfect  article.  To  an  invading 
army,  involved  in  the  intricacies  of  a  hostile  country — to  an  in- 
fant colony,  as  yet  imperfectly  supplied  with  mechanics — or  to  re- 
mote villages  dependent  upon  distant  towns  for  supplies — the  ad 
vantages  of  so  simple  and  expeditious  a  process  are  obvious.  The 
compactness  and  portability  of  the  machines,  and  the  ease  with 
which  they  could  be  worked,  would  render  them  invaluable  in  all 
such  cases,  while,  for  general  consumption,  the  economy  and 
durability  of  the  articles  which  they  would  produce,  would  soon 
enable  them  to  entirely  supersede  the  products  of  hand-labor. 

At  the  present  moment  there  are  two  houses  in  Paris  who 
sell  what  they  call  machine-made  boots  and  shoes,  but  in  reality 


BOOTS  AND  SHOES. 


248 


only  a  portion  of  the  process  of  manufacture  is  effected  by  that 
means.  Lefebvre,  on  the  Faubourg  Montmartre,  has  a  patent 
for  machine-made  screws,  by  which  the  upper-] eather  is  attach- 
ed to  the'  soles ;  and  Housiaux  &  Co.  use  a  peculiar  sort  of 
brass  peg  for  the  same  purpose.  They  both  avail  themselves 
of  Brunei's  original  process  for  cutting  out  the  soles  and  rivet- 
ing the  pegs,  so  that  there  is  but  slight  difference  in  their  modes 
of  manufacture.  Being  obliged  to  have  the  upper-leathers 
stitched  by  hand,  the  economy  effected  by  the  partial  employ- 
ment of  machinery  is  so  trifling  that  it  does  not  counterbalance 
a  serious  objection  made  to  their  productions — namely,  that 
they  are  stiffer,  and  less  pliable  to  the  foot,  than  hand-made 
boots.  Of  this  defect  we  ourselves  have  had  experience,  having 
worn  for  years  manufactures  of  both  houses.  They  possess, 
however,  a  recommendation  which,  with  most  people,  will  out- 
weigh the  temporary  discomfort  to  which  we  allude,  namely, 
that  of  superior  durability.  The  screws,  being  made  of  brass, 
are  no  tliable  to  shrink  or  expand  from  the  influence  of  moist- 
ure, as  in  the  case  of  the  wooden  pegs  used  in  this  country, 
and  which  also  in  time  affects  the  ordinary  stitching :  they 
maintain  their  hold  with  extraordinary  tenacity,  and  rarely  or 
never  allow  the  soles  to  separate  from  the  upper-leather.  .  We 
therefore  give  this  mode  of  attaching  them  a  decided  preference, 
as  much  on  account  of  its  superior  wear,  as  of  the  saving  in 
time  which  it  effects  in  the  manufacture. 

When  the  Sewing-Machine  is  conjoined  with  the  improve- 
ments above  noticed,  we  may  look  forward  to  an  immediate 
and  complete  revolution  in  the  trade.  Boots  and  shoes  can 
then  be  manufactured  at  nearly  one-half  their  present  cost,  and 
an  important  saving  will  be  thereby  effected  in  every  family. 
When  we  reflect  on  the  heavy  item  which  these  articles  form 
in  our  annual  expenses,  we  cannot  but  regard  with  lively  inter- 
est the  progress  of  inventions  which  tend  to  double  our  incomes 
without  imposing  on  us  the  necessity  of  curtailing  our  comforts 
or  enjoyments.  There  is  no  doubt  that  the  changes  which  they 
will  bring  about,  will,  as  in  all  cases  where  manual  labor  is 
supplanted  by  machinery,  inflict  great  suffering  upon  large 
classes  of  deserving  artisans.    This  evil  will,  however,  be  only 


244 


THE  GREAT  EXHIBITION. 


partial  and  temporary  in  its  effects,  while  the  benefits  resulting 
will  be  universal  and  enduring.  To  the  poorer  classes  the  boon, 
conferred  by  the  improvements  which  we  have  described  will 
be  of  inestimable  value,  the  articles  to  be  produced  by  them 
being  precisely  those  of  which  they  wear  most,  and  in  the  pur- 
chase of  which  they  are  most  constrained  to  practise  economy. 

Having  taken  a  retrospective  view  of  this  useful  branch  of 
industry,  and  indulged  in  speculations  as  to  its  future  prospects, 
it  is  now  time  to  turn  our  attention  to  the  more  immediate 
objects  of  this  article.  Before  we  proceed,  however,  to  notice 
the  specimens  exhibited  in  the  Crystal  Palace,  a  few  words 
respecting  the  present  condition  of  the  trade  may  be  deemed 
necessary. 

Although  the  French  have  long  enjoyed  the  reputation  of 
being  the  best  boot-makers  in  the  world,  we  are  now  able  to 
compete  with  them  successfully,  both  as  to  quality  and  finish. 
In  stating  this,  we  are  in  candor  bound  to  add,  that  it  is  in  a 
great  measure  owing  to  the  employment  of  foreign  workmen 
and  the  use  of  French  leather.  Almost  all  the  leathers  used 
in  the  finer  description  of  boots,  even  to  the  very  linings,  are 
imported  from  France.  Le  Morne's  French  calf-skin,  and  the 
varnished  leather  known  in  the  trade  as  "  the  silver  medal  pa- 
tent," are  those  which  are  principally  employed.  The  patent 
leather  made  in  Newark  is  only  used  in  the  cheapest  description 
of  goods.    The  sole  leather  comes  principally  from  Baltimore. 

There  is  no  trade,  perhaps,  in  which  the  average  rate  of  wages 
earned  by  journeymen  runs  so  low.  They  are  paid  by  the 
piece,  and  it  is  difficult  for  a  good  workman,  no  matter  how 
hard  he  labors,  to  earn  more  than  $8  or  $9  per  week.  What 
is  called  the  first-rate  of  wages,  gives  the  following  prices: — 
Bottoming  patent-leather,  $2  50 ;  bottoming  calf-skin,  $2  25 ; 
closing  patent-leather  tops,  $2 ;  closing  calf-skin,  7s.  Second 
rate  of  wrages :  Bottoming  patent  leather,  18s. ;  bottoming 
calf-skin,  $2  ;  closing  patent  leather,  $2;  closing  calf-skin,  6s. 
At  the  third  rate  of  wages,  a  boot  can  be  both  closed  and  bot- 
tomed for  $2.  At  least  one  of  the  leading  New-York  houses 
does  not,  however,  confine  itself  within  the  limits  of  these  rates. 
The  prices  paid  by  it  are  as  follows  :  Bottoming  patent-leather, 


BOOTS  AND  SHOES. 


245 


$4;  bottoming  calf-skin,  $3;  closing  patent-leather,  $2  50; 
closing  calf-skin,  $1.  This  manufacturer  can,  however,  afford 
to  give  these  prices,  as  he  can  get  for  his  patent-leather  boots 
from  $10  to  $12,  and  for  his  calf-skin  boots  from  $7  to  $3. 
We  must  not,  however,  run  away  with  the  notion  that  this  ap- 
parent disparity  creates  any  real  difference  in  the  remuneration 
of  journeymen.  A  good  bottomer  on  the  second  rate  of  wages, 
can  earn  as  much  as  on  the  extra  rates  paid  in  Pacalin's  shop. 
This  employer  is  so  particular  with  regard  to  the  finish  of  the 
work  which  he  turns  out,  that  more  time  must  be  spent  over  it, 
and  consequently  the  journeymen  cannot  get  through  as  many 
pieces  in  the  week  as  he  could  do  elsewhere. 

It  is  quite  a  mistake  to  suppose  that  the  extravagant  prices 
above  quoted  ensure  any  real  superiority  in  the  quality  and 
durability  of  the  boots;  as  good  boots  may  be  purchased  in 
the  shops  of  employers  who  pay  their  journeymen  according  to 
the  second  rate  of  wages.  All  the  difference  is  in.  the  ornamen- 
tal stitching,  which  adds  little  or  nothing  to  the  intrinsic  value 
of  the  boot.  It  may  gratify  the  vanity  of  the  fop,  but  it  adds 
nothing  at  all  to  the  comfort,  solidity,  or  nice  adjustment  of 
the  article.  It  is  extraordinary  how  the  influence  of  fashion, 
or  the  prestige  of  a  name  will  cause  people  to  shut  their  eyes 
to  this  fact.  More  money  is  paid  for  what  is  called  style,  or, 
in  other  words,  the  arbitrary  distinction  set  up  by  tradesmen 
to  gull  the  multitude,  than  would  purchase  twice  over  the 
equally  serviceable  but  less  .pretentious  article,  which  bears 
not  the  cachet  of  some  fashionable  purveyor. 

"  So  may  the  outward  shows  be  least  themselves ; 
The  world  is  still  deceived  with  ornament." 

Of  the  manufactures  of  which  we  are  treating,  there  are 
twenty-four  contributors  to  the  Exhibition  from  the  City  and 
State  of  New- York,  five  from  Massachusetts,  two  from  Penn- 
sylvania, one  from  Missouri,  and  one  from  Texas.  From  Great 
Britain  there  are  two ;  from  France,  eight ;  from  Germany, 
six  ;  and  Austria,  one. 

There  is,  perhaps,  -  no  branch  of  industry  in  which  we  make 
a  more,  creditable  display  than  in  this.    Almost  all  the  speci- 


246 


THE  GREAT  EXHIBITION. 


mens  shown  are  of  first-rate  merit,  and  will  vie  with  the  best 
French  productions,  both  in  taste  and  execution.  The  samples 
of  ladies'  shoes  and  slippers  are  especially  worthy  of  notice. 
Every  species  of  ornament  that  fancy  or  extravagance  could 
desire,  seems  to  have  been  lavished  upon  them,  from  the  most 
delicate  lace-work  to  the  heaviest  gold  embroidery.  Although 
we  take  pride  in  the  skill  of  our  artisans,  and  would  be  the  last 
to  deny  to  the  beau  sexe  those  reasonable  adornments  which 
they  deem  necessary  to  set  off  their  charms  to  the  best  advan- 
tage, we  still  cannot  help  expressing  our  regret  to  see  this  taste 
for  prodigality  and  luxury  carried  to  such  a  ruinous  extreme. 
With  the  wasteful  and  extravagant  habits  of  the  European 
noblesse,  we  will  soon  begin  to  copy  their  vices,  and  lose  sight 
of  that  becoming  simplicity  of  attire  and  severity  of  morals 
which  are  in  character  with  our  institutions.  Already  have 
our  women  become  distinguished  in  the  eyes  of  foreigners  by 
the  costliness  and  fanciful  extravagance  of  their  dress ;  and  we 
are  sorry  to  say  that  this  mania  is  not  confined  to  the  wealthy, 
but  is  rapidly  extending  itself  to  those  classes  which  have  but 
small  and  precarious  incomes  to  depend  upon.  This  is  a  bad 
system,  and  must  be  checked  in  time.  Nothing  tends  more  to 
corrupt  and  demoralize  the  whole  tone  of  society. 

Among  the  novelties  exhibited  in  the  gentlemen's  branch, 
is  a  pair  of  boots  made  of  alligator's  skin,  by  W.  Benedict,  of 
Galveston,  Texas.  Although  the  surface  of  the  upper-leather 
presents  that  scaly  appearance  which  was  to  be  expected,  the 
effort  is  rather  pleasing  to  the  eye  than  otherwise.  The  boot 
is  beautifully  finished,  and,  from  its  peculiar  appearance,  will, 
no  doubt,  tickle  the  fancy  of  our  young  bloods.  Whether  the 
supply  will  keep  pace  with  the  demand,  is  another  question,  as 
it  is  not  quite  so  easy  to  catch  an  alligator  as  a  calf.  Lang,  of 
Warren-street,  exhibits  specimens  of  what  he  calls  his  adjusting 
spring  boots.  The  spring  is  either  contracted  or  expanded  by 
means  of  a  key  inserted  into  a  box  in  the  heel,  like  the  box  of 
a  spur.  The  contrivance  is  ingenious,  and  if  it  effects  the  object 
proposed — that  of  keeping  the  boot  always  in  shape — it  must 
come  into  general  use.  The  American  Union  Boot,  Shoe,  and 
Leather  Company  show  samples  of  their  pegged  brogans  and 


BOOTS  AND  SHOES. 


247 


heavy  boots  and  shoes,  which  seem  to  combine  strength  and 
durability  with  more  neatness  of  execution  than  is  usually  to 
be  found  in  this  class  of  goods.  The  same  remark  applies  to 
the  Australian  and  Californian  mining  boots  exhibited  by  Un- 
derwood &  Godfrey,  of  Milford,  Massachusetts.  Better  made 
or  more  substantial  articles  it  would  be  impossible  to  produce. 
Of  the  finer  descriptions  of  home-made  gentlemen's  boots,  the 
best  specimens  we  have  noticed  are  those  of  Mayer  Eisemann, 
Sylvester  Cahill,  John  Ready,  Philip  Steiger,  and  Patrick  Ma- 
gee,  of  New-York;  Leonard  Benkart,  of  Philadelphia;  and 
J.  E.  Henri,  of  St.  Louis.  The  men's  boots  exhibited  in  the 
French  department,  are,  as  usual,  very  carefully  finished,  but 
the  assortment  is  small,  and  presents  little  variety.  The  speci- 
mens shown  by  Clercx,  of  the  Boulevard  des  Italiens,  appear 
to  us  superior  to  any  of  the  others,  both  as  regards  quality  and 
execution.  Kault  Este,  of  the  Rue  de  la  Paix,  exhibits  a  case 
of  ladies'  shoes  and  slippers  which  are  very  beautifully  finished 
and  ornamented  ;  but,  as  we  have  before  stated,  the  American 
specimens  display  quite  as  much  taste  and  richness.  Nothing 
can  be  more  beautiful  than  the  samples  of  wTorkmanship  in  this 
particular  class  of  goods,  exhibited  by  Messrs.  Miller,  Brooks, 
and  Shaw,  of  this  city.  We  can  only  say,  that  if  the  ease  and 
comfort  of  the  foot  were  as  carefully  studied  by  shoemakers 
as  external  embellishment,  the  profession  of  the  Corn  Doctor 
would  be  at  an  end. 

[For  some  account  of  a  new  Shoe  Pegging  Machine,  see  the  article  on 
Machinery.] 


248 


THE  GREAT  EXHIBITION. 


XXIV. 

PAPER  AND  ITS  MANUFACTURE. 

There  are  some  articles  in  the  Exhibition  much  neglected  by- 
visitors,  although  their  importance  is  really  considerable. 
Among  them  not  the  least  important  is  the  show  of  Paper, 
which  thousands  pass  by  without  paying  the  least  attention,  ex- 
cept perhaps,  to  De  la  Rue's  or  Marion's  fancy  stationery,  where 
there  are  so  many  varieties  of  beautifully  gilded,  painted,  em- 
broidered or  lace-cut  letter-paper.  Nevertheless,  if  those  thou- 
sands would  think  only  for  a  moment  of  the  many  useful  em- 
ployments to  which  the  dirty  and  otherwise  useless  rags,  pick- 
ed very  often  along  the  gutters,  are  turned,  they  would  be 
amazed  indeed,  and  thankful  for  the  marvellous  and  continually 
increasing  improvements  introduced  in  this  manufacture,  which 
not  only  enable  us  to  produce  the  beautiful  sheets  upon  which 
we  write  our  letters,  but  also  the  many  other  equally  useful 
kinds  of  paper.  The  time  is  not  yet  remote  when  paper,  in 
consequence  of  its  cost,  was  the  privilege  of  the  rich  classes  ; 
and  we  were  very  forcibly  struck  with  the  change  since  then, 
when  we  saw,  some  four  months  ago,  a  number  of  The  Boston 
Gazette,  printed  in  1779,  upon  a  sheet  only  some  eighteen  inches 
long  by  ten  inches  wide,  with  which  we  would  not  to-day 
even  wrap  our  candles.  But  then  paper  was  sold,  some  at  forty 
cents  a  pound,  and  of  course  our  grandsires  could  not  afford  to 
purchase  a  better  and  larger  sheet,  even  in  order  to  print  the 
great  and  immortal  facts  of  the  Revolution.  What  was  the 
price  of  subscription  to  such  a  sheet,  w^e  clo  not  know,  but  we 
are  sure  that  it  was  at  least  three  or  four  times  higher  than  that 
of  The  Tribune.  Forty  years  ago,  three  men,  working  very 
hard  all  day  long,  could  scarcely  manufacture  from  the  pulp  of 
rags  four  thousand  small  sheets ;  w7hile,  with  the  new  means  of 
the  present  day,  the  same  men  can  produce  in  the  same  time 


PAPER  AND  ITS  MANUFACTURE. 


249 


over  sixty  thousand,  and  make  them  in  an  endless  sheet  of  any 
length — and  it  has  been  calculated  that,  if  the  paper  produced 
yearly  by  six  machines  could  be  put  together,  the  sheet  would 
be  long  enough  to  encircle  the  globe. 

Our  improved  methods  of  making  paper  have,  however, 
been  closely  pressed  upon  by  the  immense  and  increasing  con- 
sumption of  the  article.  And  no  where  is  so  much  of  it  used 
as  in  the  United  States.  In  France,  for  example,  with  its  thir- 
ty-five millions  of  inhabitants,  only  seventy  thousand  tons  of 
paper  are  produced  yearly  (of  which  one-seventh  part  is  for  ex- 
portation,) giving  only  four  pounds  per  head;  and  in  England, 
for  its  twenty-eight  millions,  the  production  is  sixty-six  thousand 
tons,  giving  four  and  three-quarter  pounds  per  head  ;  while  in 
this  country  the  production  may  be  calculated,  although  there 
are  no  precise  documents,  at  very  nearly  the  same  amount  as 
in  England  and  France  together,  no  part  of  it  being  exported, 
yielding  for  the  twenty  millions  of  free  Americans  very  nearly 
thirteen  and  a  half  pounds  per  head  as  the  yearly  consumption, 
This  can  be  accounted  for  only  by  our  liberal  institutions,  the 
circulation  of  journals,  and  the  vast  use  of  books  in  our  com- 
mon schools. 

Of  the  hundreds  of  manufacturers  in  each  country,  there  are 
only  a  few  who  have  condescended  to  exhibit  their  products. 
"We  find  in  the  Palace  specimens  from  only  three  in  America, 
three  in  England,  seven  in  Germany,  four  in  France,  one  in 
Belgium,  and  three  in  Holland,  while  his  Negro  Majesty,  the 
Emperor  of  Hayti,  does  not  disdain  to  enter  the  field,  and  send 
some  bundles  of  very  good  paper,  made  from  the  Banana  tree. 
Why  would  not  the  more  advanced  manufacturers  (who,  per- 
haps, made  this  paper  for  him,)  send  their  own  also  ?  If  we 
had  the  honor  of  belonging  to  the  Grand  Jury  of  the  Exhibi- 
tion, we  would  award  the  prize  medal  to  Faustin  I.,  if  only  to 
make  our  own  makers  ashamed.  We  are  told  that  there  are 
above  seventeen  hundred  paper-mills  in  the  United  States, 
from  which  we  infer  that  there  are  at  least  five  hundred  pro- 
prietors or  companies,  though  only  three  have  contributed  to 
the  Exhibition. 

It  is  true  that  these  three  are  masters  of  their  trade.  We  are 

11* 


250 


THE  GREAT  EXHIBITION. 


pleased  to  see  that  the  firm  of  Platner  &  Co.,  of  Lee,  Mass., 
did  not  think  it  beneath  their  dignity  to  exhibit  their  beautiful 
writing  paper;  but  we  would  advise  them  not  to  keep  it,  as 
they  do,  in  its  gilded  envelopes.  The  same  could  be  said  to 
almost  ail  the  paper-makers  of  all  nations.  These  decorated 
wrappers  are  of  little  interest ;  it  is  the  paper  itself  we  wish  to 
see,  and,  as  there  is  nobody  to  show  it,  it  would  be  better  to 
leave  some  few  quires  to  be  soiled  by  the  hands  of  visitors  than 
to  give  them  no  opportunity  of  judging  as  to  the  article. 

Nothing  can  surpass  the  beauty  and  goodness  of  those  letter 
and  blank-book  papers  which  we  were  able  to  examine.  For 
.the  firmness  of  the  close  and  uniformly-woven  sheet,  the  purity 
of  the  pulp,  the  color  and  hardness  of  the  sizing,  they  can  com- 
pete with  any  of  the  best  papers  made  in  Europe,  and  they 
really  do  honor  to  New  England. 

The  Carew  Manufacturing  Company  of  South  Hadley,  Mass., 
exhibit  a  quantity  of  very  respectable-looking  packages  of  let- 
ter-paper, of  which  we  wish  we  could  say  something,  but  can 
only  report  that  we  have  been  able  neither  to  see  nor  touch  it. 
If*  however,  this  paper  is  as  good  as  that  we  are  used  to  see 
from  the  same  manufactory,  it  is  worthy  of  being  shown  to  our 
foreign  visitors  in  some  more  practical  way  than  under  its  gild- 
ed covers. 

The  same  may  be  said  of  the  Victoria  Mills'  paper — is  it 
English  or  American? — which  Cyrus  Field  &  Co.  have  locked 
up,  by  way  of  precaution,  under  a  glass  case. 

Where  are  the  specimens  of  Manilla  paper  in  reams  and 
rolls  from  the  mills  of  Manning,  Peckham  &  Howland,  of  Troy? 
We  have  not  been  able  to  discover  them  ;  and  yet  this  descrip- 
tion of  wrapping-paper  i-s  a  sort  of  national  manufacture  which 
is  much 'envied  by  the  English  paper-makers  on  account  of  the 
extraordinary  strength  of  its  thin  sheets,  which  are  as  tough  as 
parchment. 

In  the  English  Department,  as  we  have  said,  there  are  only 
three  competitors.  But,  at  least,  one  can  see  the  specimens 
exhibited,  and  find  somebody  who  will  show  them. 

A.  Cowan  &  Sons,  of  Edinburgh,  who  have  the  largest  estab- 
lishment in  Great  Britain,  have  very  good  specimens  of  all 


PAPER  AND  ITS  MANUFACTURE. 


251 


kinds  of  Writing  Paper.  Their  blue-laid  and  cream-laid  post  is 
of  a  good  texture;  the  pulp  is  pure,  but  the  blue  lacks  some- 
thing in  color,  not  being  exactly  the  same  shade  on  both 
sides  of  the  sheet.  All  these  papers  are  very  strongly  sized  ; 
but  in  respect  to  their  surface,  which  is  rough,  they  are  rather 
inferior. 

The  specimens  of  Note-paper  (paper  made  by  hand)  exhibited 
by  M.  J.  Hollingworth,  of  the  celebrated  Turkey  Mills,  are 
worthy  of  the  name  of  their  former  proprietor,  the  world- 
renowned  Whatman,  whose  brand  is  universally  considered  as 
the  guaranty  of  a  good  article.  The  drawing-papers  are  of  the 
highest  quality,  and  their  bank-post  is  of  the  best  we  have  seen. 
We  do  not  so  well  like  their  machine-made  drawing  paper  :  it 
seemed  to  us  a  little  deficient  in  sizing,  so  that  it  would  hardly 
do  for  water-painting. 

Thomas  IT.  Saunders,  of  Dartford,  without  any  doubt,  exhib- 
its the  best  paper  in  the  Crystal  Palace,  both  for  quality  and 
purity  of  pulp,  exactness  of  weaving,  firmness  of  sheet,  hard- 
ness of  sizing,  and  good  finish.  The  prize  can  only  be  disputed 
between  him,  Platner  &  Smith,  and  Blanchet  Freres,  or  Kleber, 
from  France,  of  whom  we  will  speak  presently. 

But  we  cannot  leave  Mr.  Saunders  without  paying  him  the 
highest  compliment  for  his  water-marked  paper.  If  we  were  to 
consider  it  as  merely  ornamental,  it  would  possess  very  little 
interest.  But  if  we  think  of  its  fitness  for  fine  bank-notes  and 
checks  for  the  prevention  of  forgery,  and  if  we  consider  how, 
for  this  purpose,  it  is  important  to  have  the  most  perfect  design, 
so  as  to  render  imitation  impossible,  we  are  struck  with  the 
delicacy  of  the  lines,  embedded  in  the  pulp  itself,  and  the  beau- 
tifully fading  shades  of  the  designs,  which  make  this  production 
quite  an  artistic  work.  With  regard  to  the  process  of  impress- 
ing these  designs  in  the  paper,  suffice  it  to  say,  that  it  is  done  in 
manufacturing  the  sheet  itself,  and  cannot  be  done  afterward 
without  leaving  many  signs  of  the  forgery.  This,  with  the  dif- 
ficulty for  a  forger  of  preparing  his  own  pulp  and  molding  the 
sheet,  which  requires  special  practical  ability,  we  consider  the 
peculiar  perfection  of  the  water-mark;  it  is  quite  clear  that 
where  it  is  used,  forgery  becomes  almost  impossible.   Any  one 


252 


THE  GREAT  EXHIBITION. 


can  convince  himself  of  this  by  the  mere  inspection  of  these 
beautiful  water-marks,  representing  the  Virgin,  the  Fornarina, 
Queen  Victoria,  Prince  Albert,  Mendelsohn,  Abelard,  Heloise, 
the  Capitol  in  Washington.  All  Banks  should  avail  themselves 
of  the  security  which  is  offered,  by  the  use  of  this  paper,  which 
the  Bank  of  England  has  lately  adopted. 

In  going  toward  the  French  Department,  we  find  the  collec- 
tion of  the  Messrs.  Vanhemme]rynk,  of  Stal,  near  Brussels,  who 
exhibit  a  large  quantity  of  specimens  of  every  description  of 
paper.  They  are  the  only  exhibitors  who  have  properly  under- 
stood that,  in  a  World's  Fair,  not  the  finest  articles  alone,  but 
rather  those  for  the  use  of  the  million,  ought  to  be  exhibited. 
Here  are  some  very  good  colored  wrapping-papers,  and  some 
good  writing-paper,  rather  tender,  perhaps,  especially  when 
compared  with  our  own,  or  with  the  English  article,  though 
of  a  good  quality.  But  what  most  struck  us  was  some  good 
printing  paper,  at  eighty  francs  per  one  hundred  kilogrammes, 
which  corresponds  to  something  like  seven  and  a  half  cents  a 
pound. 

We  have  remarked  above,  that  Blanchet  Freres,  or  Kleber, 
from  France,  might  compete  with  the  best  American  and  Eng- 
lish manufacturers.  We  regret  that  they  have  inclosed  their 
specimens  in  a  glass  case  instead  of  arranging  them  so  that  they 
could  be  shown  to  every  one  to  the  best  advantage.  Their  thin 
Bank-post,  and  Bristol  and  colored  Paste-boards  for  drawing, 
are  especially  worthy  of  notice,  as  well  as  their  Incombustible 
Paper  for  gun  and  cannon  cartridges;  this  is  made  entirely 
from  skins. 

But  the  great  feature  of  this  Exhibition,  especially  for  us,  is 
a  plain-looking  collection  of  writing-paper,  made  entirely  from 
straw,  by  Coupier  and  Mellier,  of  France,  who  have  also 
patented  their  process  in  this  country.  For  a  long  time  we 
have  believed  in  the  possibility  of  making  paper  from  crude 
vegetable  substances,  as  the  fibres  contained  in  them  may  evi- 
dently be  made  available  for  the  purpose.  But  we  had  not 
been  aware,  until  hearing  the  explanations  of  Mr.  Mellier,  the 
inventor  of  this  paper,  of  the  difficulty  of  getting  these  fibres 
into  a  convenient  state  to  turn  them  into  pulp  for  manufacture. 


PAPER  AND  ITS  MANUFACTURE. 


253 


It  appears  that  some  one  hundred  and  fifty  different  processes 
of  doing  this  have  been  patented  as  well  in  England  as  in 
France,  but  that  all  of  them  have  utterly  failed,  either  in  respect 
of  the  quality  and  color  of  the  paper,  or  the  cost  of  production. 
The  first  attempt  was  made  in  Germany  in  1756,  where  the 
scarcity  of  rags  was  felt  even  then,  although  the  production  of 
paper  has  since  increased  about  twenty -five  per  cent.  A  treat- 
ise upon  the  subject  was  printed  in  Frankfort-on-the-Main,  giv- 
ing a  plan  for  reducing  all  vegetables  into  pulp,  and  bleaching 
the  same.  Some  twenty  years  afterward,  a  new  way  was  found 
in  France,  and  we  have  seen  a  small  volume  printed  in  1776, 
upon  white-looking  paper  made  from  the  bark  of  the  Linden 
tree,  at  the  end  of  which  were  some  twenty  specimens  of  paper, 
made  from  as  many  different  kinds  of  vegetables.  But  the  poor 
quality  of  these  papers,  and  the  cost  of  producing  them,  seem 
to  have  discouraged  the  inventors.  All  the  subsequent  attempts 
made  from  1804  to  1843,  equally  resulted  in  complete  failure, 
leaving  only  as  a  token  the  manufacture  of  the  yellow,  coarse- 
looking,  brittle  paper,  generally  used  for  wrapping.  But  the 
possibility  of  getting  pulp  from  these  substances  was  neverthe- 
less established,  and  although  there  has  been  a  constant  pre- 
judice against  their  employment,  in  consequence  of  these  fail- 
ures, there  has,  however,  remained  among  all  practical  men 
in  the  paper  trade,  a  strong  feeling,  that,  by  some  means  or 
other,  a  convenient  process  would  be  found  to  make  them 
really  useful. 

The  great  difficulty  Coupier  and  Mellier  had  to  overcome, 
was  to  submit  the  straw  to  the  chemical  agents  which  they  em- 
ploy in  such  a  manner  as  to  produce  on  it  the  necessary  effect, 
and,  at  the  same  time,  not  to  wear  it  out ;  that  is  to  say,  to 
retain  the  strength  of  the  fibres,  and,  finally,  to  obtain  the  pulp 
for  manufacturing  at  a  cost  not  exceeding,  and,  if  possible, 
less  than,  the  cost  of  the  pulp  made  from  rags.  Before  dis- 
covering the  very  ingenious  combination  of  means  which 
answers  completely,  they  had  to  go  through  all  the  previous 
processes,  uniting  chemical  science  with  their  practical  expe- 
rience as  paper  manufacturers,  and  at  a  great  expense  of  time 
and  money. 


254 


THE  GREAT  EXHIBITION. 


How  far  they  have  succeeded  as  to  the  quality  of  the  paper, 
we  can  judge  by  the  specimens  which  they  exhibit,  which  are 
strong,  consistent,  and  of  good  color;  as  to  the  cost,  by  the 
fact,  of  which  we  have  trustworthy  information,  that  their  pro- 
cess has  been  successfully  applied,  during  the  last  two  years,  in 
France,  Great  Britain,  and  Switzerland,  and  is  about  to  be  ap- 
plied in  Belgium.  We  learn,  also,  that  one  of  the  inventors  is 
now  in  America,  and  is  building  his  apparatus  for  a  paper-mill 
in  Pennsylvania,  which,  in  the  course  of  two  months,  will  fur- 
nish the  market  with  straw-paper. 

We  do  not  know  that  we  can  anticipate  an  immediate  reduc- 
tion in  the  price  of  paper  from  the  introduction  of  this  process; 
but  at  all  events  we  can  depend  upon  its  checking  the  constant 
increase  of  price,  which  must  otherwise  follow  the  constantly- 
increasing  consumption  of  paper,  while  the  sources  which  sup- 
ply rags  remain  the  same.  But,  if  the  inventor  is  correct  in 
his  opinion,  we  may  expect  that  before  long,  at  the  same  time 
that  he  will  receive  an  adequate  reward  for  his  ingenuity,  the 
profits  made  by  the  manufacturer  will  be  increased,  while  the 
price  of  paper  will  be  diminished.  Then,  while  the  public  at 
large  will  be  benefited  in  every  way,  we  shall  be  able  to  add 
another  improvement  to  The  Tribune  by  printing  it  on  paper 
about  as  fine  and  heavy  as  that  used  by  the  London  journals, 
without  increasing  its  price. 


BOOKBINDING. 


255 


XXV. 

BOOKBINDING  . 

Although  we  have  evidence  that  the  art  of  Bookbinding  was 
pursued  by  some  of  those  nations  whose  very  names  are  now  al- 
most lost  in  the  lapse  of  ages — witness  the  hieroglyphics  in  the 
Egyptian  "  palace-tombs"  to  prove  its  great  antiquity — and  has 
been  practised  more  or  less  successfully,  by  the  nations  of  modern 
Europe  during  several  centuries,  yet  it  is  only  till  within  a  very 
few  years  that  it  has  been  known  in  the  United  States  ;  for, 
though  the  trade  of  Bookbinding  was  probably  introduced  into 
this  country  contemporaneously  with  the  first  printing  press,  yet 
its  earliest  footing  here  as  an  .art,  dates  back  only  a  very  few 
years,  antecedent  to  which  all  books  were  bound,  as  "  Hodge's 
Razors,"  (of  Peter  Pindaric  fame,)  were  made — to  sell ;  and  in 
each  case  with  a  result  equally  afflicting  to  the  purchaser. 

It  would  not,  perhaps,  be  hazarding  too  much  to  assert,  that 
in  no  industrial  pursuit  has  such  a  general  improvement  recently 
taken  place  as  in  that  under  notice,  whether  considered  with  re- 
gard to  the  greater  stability  of  the  workmanship,  the  better  ma- 
terials used,  or,  above  all,  to  the  more  correct  taste  displayed  at 
the  present  day,  both  as  regards  the  style  of  embellishment  and 
appropriateness  of  covering ;  for,  prominent  as  were  all  other  de- 
fects, yet  in  this  latter  essential  was  the  greatest  necessity  for  re- 
formation evident.  Therefore,  it  was  that  American  Bookbinding 
gained  such  scant  commendation  at  the  Great  Exhibition  of 
1851 — in  fact,  the  criticisms  made  at  the  time  in  London  were 
by  no  means  encouraging  to  future  competition.  The  justice  of 
the  condemnation,  however,  lay  far  more  in  the  want  of  taste 
displayed  than  in  the  quality  of  the  workmanship  ;  though  it  has 
since  been  generally  admitted  that  this  latter  was  far  from  de- 
serving to  be  considered  as  a  favorable  specimen  of  what  could 
have  been  shown  by  American  binders,  many  of  whom  deemed 


256 


THE  GREAT  EXHIBITION. 


it  folly  to  compete  with  the  old  and  famous  houses  in  Europe, 
where  their  vocation  has  so  long  attained  the  dignity  of  an  art, 
and  where  samples  of  all  styles  of  binding,  suitable  to  any  kind 
of  work,  are  so  easily  accessible  ;  while  in  this  country,  the  ma- 
jority of  even  our  most  celebrated  binders,  lacking  such  facilities, 
are  absolutely  ignorant  of  the  names  and  origin  of  the  various 
styles  practised  in  Europe.  This  deficiency  in  a  knowledge  of  the 
first  principles  of  their  art  has  prevented  many  gentlemen  of 
wealth  and  taste,  who  have  collected  costly  libraries,  probably 
containing  many  rare  works  of  early  date,  from  giving  that  legi- 
timate encouragement  to  the  bookbinder,  which  in  other  countries 
is  so  liberally  bestowed,  the  owners  of  such  valuable  works  prefer- 
ring to  endure  the  reproach  of  meanness  rather  than  see  their  highly 
prized  volumes  disfigured  by  inapt  and  ridiculous  oiitivard  cover- 
ings— a  mortification  to  which  several  of  our  most  distinguished 
collectors  have  been  subjected.  The  truth  of  these  strictures  will, 
we  venture  to  say,  not  be  disputed  by  those  who  are  most  deeply 
interested  in  this  matter,  the  bookbinders  themselves  ;  and  al- 
though, as  before  stated,  a  great  improvement  in  taste  is  percept- 
ible here  even  within  two  years,  especially  noticeable  in  one  or 
two  instances,  yet  till  the  binders,  as  a  body,  have  more  tho- 
roughly educated  themselves  into  a  knowledge  of  their  trade  in 
all  its  bearings,  especially  in  the  adaptation  of  the  style  of  cover- 
ing to  the  contents  of  the  volume  to  be  bound,  they  will  do  well 
to  imitate  more  closely  foreign  styles,  when  they  find  themselves 
at  a  loss.  If  in  addition  they  would  encourage  competition  among 
themselves,  and  bestow,  periodically  and  permanently,  honorary 
rewards  upon  such  as  execute  their  work  in  the  best  taste,  we 
believe  the  trade  would  speedily  be  benefited  to  an  extent  little 
anticipated: 

Estimated  by  the  display  in  the  Crystal  Palace,  our  views  are, 
certainly,  by  no  means  borne  out ;  but  this  arises  from  the  fact 
that  the  nations  of  Europe,  with  the  exception  of  one  or  two  spe- 
cimens from  England,  have  not  entered  the  field  as  rivals.  We 
should  have  been  pleased  to  have  had  an  opportunity  of  compar- 
ing the  merits  of  our  best  binders  with  men  of  such  reputation  as 
Beauyonnet,  Duru,  Cape,  and  other  eminent  French  artists  of  the 
present  day  ;  and  we  likewise  regret  that  the  less  splendid  but 


BOOKBINDING. 


257 


more  substantial  works  of  the  "best  English  houses,  such  as  Hay- 
day,  Clarke,  Bedford,  and  others,  have  not  a  single  representative 
at  our  World's  Fair,  to  enable  us  to  judge  of  their  merits.  We 
do  not  find  a  solitary  specimen  from  France,  and  the  few  from 
England  are,  on  the  whole,  inferior  to  those  in  the  American  De- 
partment ;  and,  as  the  British  samples,  worthy  of  any  notice,  are 
so  few  in  number,  we  will  proceed  to  dispose  of  them  first  : 

A  collection  of  books,  exhibited  by  Mr.  H.  G.  Bohn,  the 
eminent  London  publisher,  affords  decidedly  the  best  samples 
of  bookbinding  to  be  found  in  the  English  department.  We  do 
not  know  by  what  house  they  were  done,  as  the  binder's  name 
is  not  given,  nor  do  we  suppose  they  were  sent  as  model  speci- 
mens of  English  workmanship,  but  merely  consist  of  a  random 
selection  from  the  large  stock  of  the  exhibitor,  and  are  placed 
there,  we  think,  rather  to  show  the  different  styles  adopted  in 
England  for  various  kinds  of  work,  than  for  any  other  purpose. 
Foremost  among  the  display,  stands  Selby's  British  Ornitholo- 
gy, in  two  volumes  folio,  bound  in  green  morocco,  of  beautiful 
quality  and  grain.  They  are  ornamented  with  a  rich  border, 
composed  of  heavy  rolls  and  scrolls  of  a  style  very  appropriate 
for  large  and  richly-illustrated  works.  There  are  several  other 
folios  in  this  case,  all  suitably  and  richly  bound,  and  serving  to 
show  a  good  and  appropriate  style  for  costly  folios,  intended 
for  valuable  libraries ;  many  binders,  exhibitors  and  otherwise, 
might  also  profit  considerably  by  examining  the  smaller  books, 
containing  sundry  volumes  of  Bonn's  classical  and  standard  li- 
braries in  calf  extra,  calf  antique,  and  other  bindings  suitable 
for  library  editions.  As  mere  specimens,  they  are  by  no 
means  remarkable,  still  they  generally  look  well,  and  are  ail  in 
correct  taste. 

Mr.  Seten,  of  Edinburgh,  has  a  large  folio  volume,  entitled, 
"  Scotland  Delineated,"  which  at  least  succeeds  in  attracting  the 
attention  of  most  persons  in  that  department  of  the  building. 
It  is  bound  in  red  morocco,  and  inlaid  with  what  appears  to 
have  been  originally  white  morocco.  The  arms  of  Scotland 
are  stamped  in  the  centre,  and  a  border  in  which  the  national 
thistle  predominates,  forms  the  design  for  the  side,  while  seve- 
ral ecclesiastical  edifices  are  attempted  to  be  delineated  on  the 


258 


THE  GREAT  EXHIBITION. 


edges.  The  sides  are  sunk  in  panel,  and  this  remarkable  book 
is  completed  by  the  addition  of  large  metal  gilt  corners.  All 
this  work  is,  in  our  opinion,  utterly  superfluous,  and  by  indulg- 
ing in  it  the  binder  departs  from  his  legitimate  sphere.  Com- 
pare this  book  with  the  folios  in  Bonn's  case ;  in  the  one  every 
thing  is  attempted  and  nothing  effected  ;  the  others  are  models 
of  simple  elegance.  No  binder  ever  yet  succeeded,  none  pro- 
bably ever  will,  in  producing  gothic  churches  or  landscapes 
on  the  edges  or  outside  of  his  books.  Such  workmen  should 
bear  in  mind  that  the  proper  place  for  illustrations  is  the  inte- 
rior of  the  volume. 

We  are  much  indebted  to  Mr.  Rudd,  of  London,  for  his  spe- 
cimens of  binding,  as  he  has  shown  us  how  ridiculous  and  ugly 
a  thorough  master  of  his  trade,  as  this  exhibitor  no  doubt  is, 
can  contrive  to  render  a  book.  They  consist  of  various  works 
in  paper,  sheep,  calf,  and  wood — we  should  probably  give  a 
more  correct  idea  by  describing  the  latter  specimens  as  in  tim- 
ber— and  are  apparently  placed  there  solely  with  the  generous 
motive  of  allowing  the  surrounding  cases  to  be  displayed  to 
better  advantage.  Mr.  Rudd  has  either  formed  a  poor  opinion 
of  the  abilities  of  our  binders,  or  an  unreasonably  exalted  one 
of  his  own  ;  or  he  is  only  44  poking  fun"  at  us. 

Closely  adjacent,  among  the  stationery  of  De  la  Rue,  are 
some  cases  for  the  reception  of  blotting  and  writing  paper, 
which  though  not  strictly  bookbinding,  yet  sufficiently  approach 
it  to  be  entitled  to  a  notice  in  this  article.  They  are  specimens 
of  exquisite  tooling,  and  the  designs  are  of  the  most  chaste  and 
elegant  nature.  The  inlaid  metal  covers,  too,  cannot  be  sur- 
passed. We  fancy  we  can  recognize  the  pencil  of  Owen  Jones 
in  these  beautiful  lines. 

The  above  are  the  only  foreign  contributions  at  all  deserving 
of  notice;  in  the  departments  devoted  to  Holland  and  parts  of 
Germany,  numerous  volumes  can  be  seen  ;  but  they  are  all, 
without  exception,  destitute  of  any  merit  whatever. 

American  Bookbinding,  on  the  contrary,  is  abundantly,  and, 
taken  as  a  whole,  very  creditably  represented,  though  during 
an  evening  inspection  it  is  seen  at  great  disadvantage,  the  part 
of  the  building  in  which  it  is  placed  being  very  imperfectly 


BOOKBINDING. 


259 


illuminated ;  this  is  much  to  be  regretted,  as  visitors  are  then 
unable  to  appreciate  the  merits  of  one  of  the  finest  samples  of 
bookbinding,  probably,  ever  produced,  namely:  "The  Alham- 
bra,"  to  which,  however,  we  shall  have  occasion  to  refer  more 
in  detail  ere  we  conclude,  and  now  incidentally  mention  it  with 
a  view  to  call  the  attention  of  the  Crystal  Palace  Executive  to 
an  oversight  that  can  and  ought  to  be  remedied,  as  a  fine  and 
diversified  collection  of  bindings  is  now  almost  lost  in  the  deep 
gloom  in  which  it  is  placed.  We  see  some  old  familiar  covers 
that  have  already  done  veteran  service  in  various  exhibitions, 
fairs,  and  institutes  •  but,  as  this  does  not  detract  from  their 
merit,  we  need  not  particularize  them. 

E.  Walker  and  Sons,  have  a  case  of  books  in  showy  and  mis- 
cellaneous bindings,  the  principal  attraction  in  the  group  being 
three' quarto  Bibles.  The  edges  of  one  of  these  are  very  taste- 
fully ornamented  and  painted,  but  we  can  pass  no  opinion  on 
the  outside  of  the  book,  as  it  can  be  so  imperfectly  seen,  even 
during  daylight;  but  we  do  not  deem  the  inside  scroll-work 
graceful,  or  compatible  with  the  character  of  the  book  which  it 
covers.  "I  stilMive,"  words  now  become  historical,  at  once 
attract  the  observation  ;  they  are  richly  painted  on  the  edges 
of  Webster's  works,  in  six  volumes,  and  add,  unlike  stamped 
figures  and  landscapes,  very  much  to  the  beauty  of  appearance 
in  this  otherwise  well-bound  set.  The  neatest  and  most  taste- 
ful books  in  these  gentlemen's  case  are  an  Altar  service  and  a 
Common  Prayer,  bound  in  white  vellum,  having  a  very  neat 
design  worked  in  gold  and  colors,  forming  a  pretty  contrast 
with  the  white  vellum.  The  production  of  these  two  volumes 
must  have  been  a  task,  involving  great  time  and.  labor. 

Lippincott,  Grambo  &  Co.,  of  Philadelphia,  have  a  very  good 
case  of  scriptural  books,  fully  equal  to  any  of  those  on  exhibition, 
especially  a  Bible  bound  in  brown-morocco,  illuminated  ;  a  de- 
sign on  the  side  very  tastefully  and  symmetrically  drawn.  On 
another,  the  painted  edges  are  particularly  good,  perhaps  the  best 
we  have  ever  seen,  though  plain  gilt  would,  we  think,  have  been 
more  in  unison  with  the  work  itself.  In  this  case  are  exhibited 
manuals. 

Dunigan  &  Co.,  have  a  case  of  Roman  Catholic  and  other 


260 


THE  GREAT  EXHIBITION. 


books,  very  elegantly  bound  in  fancy  covers,  such  as  velvet,  tor- 
toise-shell, ivory,  and  other  materials.  Many  of  them,  too,  are 
ornamented  with  beautiful  medallions  of  the  Savior  in  the  centre, 
others  being  embellished  with  perforated  ivory  ornaments,  or 
beautiful  reliefs  in  brass  or  other  metal.  This  is  a  very  attractive 
and  handsome  contribution. 

G.  P.  Putnam  &  Co.,  have  a  display  of  well-bound  books, 
principally  noticeable  as  containing  the  whole  of  the  wTorks  issued 
by  this  enterprising  firm  since  its  original  establishment. 

There  is  also  a  rich  display  of  blank  books,  undoubtedly  the 
best  collection  ever  brought  together.  Among  so  many  it  is  diffi- 
cult to  select  the  best ;  we  would,  however,  assign  a  prominent 
place  to  Root,  Anthony  &  Co.,  whose  contributions  are  at  least 
inferior  to  none.  The  ledgers  for  the  Bank  of  New- York  and  the 
Chemical  Bank,  in  full  Russia,  and  most  excellently  finished,  are 
particularly  good  specimens  of  workmanship. 

Nearly  all  the  leading  Account-book  manufacturers  have  sent 
in  their  contributions  ;  and,  for  durability,  ruling,  and  all  those 
qualities  which  are  required  to  make  up  a  good  book,  they  ap- 
pear to  be  much  on  an  equality,  and  all  of  the  very  best  class. 
"We  cannot  help  thinking,  however,  that  there  is  a  great  deal  of 
superfluous  ornament  on  the  majority,  considering  the  purpose  for 
which  they  are  intended. 

If  there  is  a  diversity  of  opinion  relative  to  the  merits  of  the 
blank  books,  our  doubts  are  not  extended  into  the  other  branches 
of  the  bookbinder's  art,  for  we  have  no  hesitation-  in  assigning  to 
the  case  exhibited  by  Mr.  Matthews  the  honor  of  being  the  best 
in  the  Crystal  Palace,  and  this,  too,  independent  of  the  Alhambra. 
"We  would  particularly  mention  the  "  Knights  of  the  Round 
Table,"  a  compact  quarto,  bound  in  vellum,  characteristically  il- 
luminated with  a  monogram  in  the  centre — a  perfect  bijou.  Also 
a  volume  of  Victor  Cousin  "  On  the  Beautiful,"  in  green  mo- 
rocco, with  a  richly  ornamented  border  ;  also  two  copies  of  Pick- 
ering's edition  of  Milton,  one  being  in  morocco,  the  other  in  calf, 
and  both  splendid  specimens  of  library  binding.  A  highly  useful 
simple  feature  is  also  introduced  in  the  shape  of  a  so-called  Flexi- 
ble Binding,  especially  adapted  for  dictionaries  and  other  works 
of  reference,  as  by  its  use  a  book  may  be  turned  completely  back, 


BOOKBINDING. 


261 


an  instance  of  which  is  shown  in  the  case,  where  a  reversed  vol- 
ume is  exhibited,  suspended  over  a  string. 

But  the  gem,  not  of  this  case  only,  but  of  the  entire  Exhibition, 
and  beyond  question  the  finest  display  of  workmanship  ever  made 
in  this  country,  and  the  beauty  and  perfection  of  which  cause  us 
to  regret  still  more  the  absence  of  specimens  of  the  best  European 
work,  with  which  we  believe  it  would  enter  into  a  triumphant 
competition,  is  Owen  Jones's  "  Illustrations  of  the  Alhambra," 
exhibited,  like  the  above,  by  Mr.  Matthews,  of  this  city,  as  a  spe- 
cimen of  the  skill  of  his  establishment.    From  a  printed  card  at- 
tached to  this  beautiful  production,  we  learn  that  the  object  of 
the  exhibition  was  to  show  what  could  be  accomplished  by  the 
art  of  bookbinding,  "  pure  and  simple,"  unaided  by  the  painter, 
jeweller,  or  engraver ;  and  his  success  fully  sustains  our  own 
opinion,  as  recently  expressed.    The  book  is  a  large  folio,  filled 
with  plates,  illustrative  of  the  building  whose  name  it  bears,  and 
the  subject  thus  gave  the  binder  scope  for  a  fanciful  design,  an  op- 
portunity of  which  he  has  admirably  availed  himself  of.    The  ex- 
terior bears  a  light  and  elegant  design,  purely  in  the  style  of  the 
Alhambra  decorations.    The  panel-work  is  formed  of  intersected 
lines,  and  the  compartments  filled  with  scroll-work,  the  whole 
being  simply  in  outline.    No  solid  or  engraved  tool  has  been  used 
in  its  entire  construction  ;  even  the  lettering  is  a  novelty  in  this 
particular,  being  formed  with  a  dot  or  period.    In  order  to  make 
so  light  a  design  bold  enough  for  so  large  a  volume  on  light 
Russia,  with  which  the  book  is  covered,  it  is  inlaid  with  blue  and 
red  morrocco,  the  blue  forming  the  groundwork,  as  it  were,  of  the 
design,  while  the  scroll-work  remains  of  the  yellow  Russia  color, 
thus  standing  boldly  out  from  a  dark  ground.    The  red  consists 
of  a  narrow  strip  in  the  intersected  frame- work,  which  serves  to 
.  enliven  the  whole.    The  exterior  thus  presents  to  the  eye  the' 
three  colors,  principally  used  in  Moorish  decorations — red,  blue, 
and  yellow.    The  interior-design  of  the  cases  is  rendered  more 
showy  by  a  very  brilliant  border  of  the  same  colors,  and  the  centre 
is  of  white  vellum  inlaid  with  a  straw-colored  diamond  lozenge, 
the  fly-leaves  being  of  watered  silk  of  similar  hue.    From  the  size 
of  the  volume,  the  profusion  of  work  in  the  designs,  and  the  minute- 
ness which  characteiizes  the  entire  execution,  we  can  readily 


262 


THE  GREAT  EXHIBITION. 


imagine  that  the  exhibitor  has  not  exaggerated  in  his  statement 
of  the  time  occupied  in  its  production.  The  general  e fleet  is  splen- 
did, and  the  skill  of  the  artisan  wonderfully  displayed,  especially 
when  we  consider  that  leather  and  gold  leaf  are  the  only  ma- 
terials used  throughout,  and  that  there  is  no  meretricious  effect 
gained  by  painted  edges,  raised  panels,  or  jewelled  ornaments,  a 
remark  which  applies  to  all  the  volumes  in  the  case.  It  is  stated 
in  the  card  that  six  months'  labor  was  expended  on  this  one  book, 
at  an  outlay  of  $500. 

Though  we  receive  so  large  a  proportion  of  our  book-binders' 
materials  from  Great  Britain,  we  discover  but  one  sample  of 
muslins  from  that  kingdom,  and  that  only  of  an  average  quality. 
The  manufacture  of  that  article  was,  till  recently,  entirely  mo- 
nopolized by  England,  though  of  late  years  the  domestic  pro- 
duction has  been  steadily  increasing — the  only,  house  in  that 
trade,  Abbot  and  Wilcomb,  effecting  sales  equal  to  about  one- 
half  of  the  entire  present  importation.  There  appears  to  be 
but  little  difference  in  quality  between  the  two  articles,  while 
the  American  is  the  cheaper ;  yet  an  old  prejudice  still  exists 
against  it  among  many  of  the  binders.  Judging  from  present 
appearances,  however,  it  is  very  probable  that  in  a  few  years 
the  foreign  goods  will  be  entirely  expelled  from  our  market, 
as  native  competition  has  already  reduced  the  price  nearly  one- 
half  in  a  period  of  ten  years. 

Two  inventions  which  gained  a  medal  at  the  World's  Fair 
in  1851,  are  also  exhibited  at  our  Crystal  Palace;  namely,  the 
Patent  Backing  and  the  Patent  Finishing-Machines,  both  by 
Mr.  Starr.  The  former  is  designed  as  a  substitute  for  the  ham- 
mer in  backing  books.  The  pressure  is  gained  by  weights  and 
levers;  and,  by  pressure  against  a  pair  of  gauges,  a  uniformity 
in  the  backs  is  secured.  The  principal  advantages  which  this 
machine  possesses  over  the  hammer,  consist  in  the  superiority 
of  the  workmanship,  and  in  the  economy  of  time  required  to 
perform  it— a  man,  with  one-tenth  part  of  the  experience  he 
may  have  had  with  the  hammer,  saving  from  twenty  to  seventy 
per  cent. 

The  Patent  Finishing-Machine  is  designed  mainly  for  em- 
bossing the  backs  of  books  after  they  are  covered,  but  is  also 


BOOKBINDING. 


2G3 


advantageously  used  in  lettering  and  gilding,  and  the  pressure 
is  produced  as  in  the  backing-machine.  A  brass  tool,  two 
inches  in  diameter,  is  engraved  upon  the  surface,  to  suit  the 
size  of  the  back.  The  book  being  placed  in  the  box,  and  held 
fast,  is  turned  with  the  tools  pressed  upon  it,  and  thus  the  im- 
pression is  effected.  By  the  use  of  this  machine,  two  thousand 
duodecimo  volumes  are  sometimes  embossed  in  a  day  at  the 
Bible-House,  where  they  are  in  constant  use,  though  the  dis- 
patch varies  with  the  size  and  thickness  of  the  volume.  The 
lettering,  too,  can  be  done  in  less  time  than  by  hand,  and  with 
greater  accuracy. 

Several  other  most  important  inventions  and  improvements, 
as  connected  with  the  bookbinding  trade,  have  recently  come 
under  our  notice,  and  it  would  be  of  mutual  advantage  to  the 
public  and  the  patentees,  if  they  received  the  fullest  publicity. 
We  are  sorry  to  say,  that  many  of  the  latter  have  not  had 
sufficient  enterprise  to  send  in  specimens  of  their  ingenuity, 
and  we  are  consequently  unable  to  call  that  attention  to  them 
which  otherwise  we  should  like  to  do.  We  have  already  devot- 
ed a  large  portion  of  our  space  to  different  objects  of  interest 
in  various  departments  of  the  World's  Fair;  but,  with  every 
disposition  to  give  meritorious  inventions  all  the  advantages 
attainable  by  the  circulation  of  our  journal,  we  do  not  care 
to  go  out  of  our  usual  course  to  help  those  who  will  not  help 
themselves. 


264 


THE  GREAT  EXHIBITION. 


XXVI. 
CANNON. 

In  an  age  in  which  the  progress  of  science  and  the  human- 
izing influence  of  the  peaceful  arts  have  already  gone  far  to 
neutralize  that  thirst  for  military  glory,  which  seems  to  be  one 
of  the  ruling  instincts  in  the  breast  of  man,  the  subject  of  the 
present  article  has  lost  much  of  the  importance  that  once  at- 
tached to  it.  We  have  reached  a  period  when  the  supremacy 
which  has  been  so  long  maintained  by  physical  force,  begins 
to  crumble  and  melt  away  before  the  influence  of  those  great 
elements  of  progress.  The  steam-engine  and  the  power-loom 
are  now  the  arms  by  which  the  ascendency  of  nations  must  be 
decided :  the  war  of  races  has  been  transferred  from  the  bris- 
tling fortress  arid  tented  field  to  the  great  factories  and  indus- 
trial arenas  of  the  world;  its  victories  are  counted,  not  by  the 
number  of  victims  it  has  slain,  but  by  the  number  of  starving 
wretches  that  it  has  made  prosperous  and  happy.  It  has  bro- 
ken down  the  barriers  of  ancient  prejudices,  and  swept  away 
the  landmarks  of  feudal  monopoly  ;  but  it  has  left  no  track 
of  desolation  in  its  train,  nor  has  it  deluged  the  soil  with  the 
tears  and  blood  of  its  children.  In  this  triumph  of  mind  over 
matter— this  substitution  of  moral  for  physical  power — war 
and  its  destructive  implements  will  eventually  be  classed 
amongst  the  traditions  and  types  of  barbarous  epochs ;  and 
will  be  looked  upon  by  our  children  with  that  feeling  of  mingled 
pity  and  contempt,  with  which  they  will  be  taught  to  regard 
all  such  deplorable  evidences  of  human  folly.  Until,  however, 
this  golden  era  arrives,  we  fear  that  we  must  continue  to  look 
upon  the  manufacture  of  fire-arms  as  one  of  the  necessary  evils 
of  our  present  imperfect  state  of  social  development. 

The  period  at  which  cannon  first  came  into  use  has  never 
been  accurately  determined.    Some  writers  attribute  the  inven- 


CANNON. 


265 


tion  to  the  Chinese ;  and  affirm  that  there  are  cannon  still  in 
existence  in  that  country,  which  were  made  in  the  eightieth 
year  of  the  Christian  era.  From  the  Chinese  the  Saracens  pro- 
bably learned  to  manufacture  them ;  and  Callinicus,  a  deserter 
from  Heliopolis  in  Phoenicia,  made  them  known  in  the  year  676 
to  the  Greek  Emperor,  Pagonatus.  It  is  said  that  Solomon, 
King  of  Hungary,  used  them  at  the  siege  of  Belgrade,  in  1073  ; 
but,  notwithstanding  these  statements,  the  Germans  persist  in 
ascribing  the  invention  to  a  monk,  named  Albertus  Magnus, 
about  the  middle  of  the  thirteenth  century.  Bombards  were 
first  brought  into  use  in  France  in  the  year  1338.  Of  this  fact 
there  can  be  no  question  from  the  proofs  quoted  by  Father 
Daniel,  in  his  life  of  Philip  of  Valois,  and  the  more  recent  dis- 
covery, within  the  last  few  years,  by  M.  Lacabane,  of  an  old 
parchment,  in  which  it  is  stated  that  the  Seigneur  de  Cardaillac 
himself  made  the  ten  cannons  necessary  to  the  defence  of  Cam- 
brai,  and  that  the  powder  was  prepared  by  Etienne  Morel,  his 
squire.  Jt  is  pretended,  by  some  writers,  that  it  was  with?  great 
reluctance  that  the  French  knights  could  be  brought  to  use  can- 
non ;  and  that  even  Duguesclin  refused  those  that  were  offered 
to  him  at  the  siege  of  the  Abbey  of  Perigord  in  1369.  .  Louis 
Napoleon,  in  his  able  treatise  on  artillery,  completely  refutes 
these  assertions,  and  shows  by  a  careful  reading  of  the,  Chro- 
nique  rimee  of  Cuvellier,  that  the  Breton  hero  did  not, refuse 
cannon  but  engines  for  casting  stones;  some  confusion  existing 
in  the  minds  of  the  chroniclers  of  the  fourteenth  century,  as  to 
the  correct  designation  of  the  former,  which  w7ere  originally  ap- 
plied to  the  same  purpose. 

The  first  cannon  of  which  wTe  have  any  distinct  account,  were 
made  of  wood,  wrapped  in  numerous  folds  of  linen,  and  wrell 
secured  by  iron  hoops.  They  were  of  a  conical  form,  being 
wide  at  the  muzzle  and  narrow  at  the  breach.  They  soon,  how- 
ever, assumed  a  cylindrical  shape,  and  the  wood  was  sup- 
planted by  iron  bars,  firmly  bound  together,  like  casks  with 
iron  hoops.  The  first  notice  that  we  have  of  cast  cannon  is  in 
the  year  1370,  the  people  of  Augsbourg  having  succeeded  in 
founding  several  in  that  year.  They  were  first  cast  in  an  alloy 
of  copper  and  tin,  but  other  metals  were  subsequently  added. 

12 


266 


THE  GREAT  EXHIBITION. 


It  was  a  considerable  time,  however,  before  iron  was  resorted 
to,  owing  to  an  idea  that  prevailed,  and  which,  curious  to  say, 
prevails  to  this  day,  that  that  metal  is  liable  to  burst.  The 
truth  is,  however,  that  if  iron  guns  are  made  from  good  ore, 
they  resist  bursting  as  well  as  brass  cannon,  and  possess  some 
important  advantages  over  them.  The  first  cast  cannon  that 
are  mentioned  as  having  been  used  in  battle  were  of  such  small 
calibre,  that  they  might  properly  be  considered  as  portable 
fire-arms,  were  it  not  that  the  clumsiness  of  their  construction 
rendered  them  difficult  to  manage.  They  were  accordingly 
mounted  on  frames  with  wheels,  or  on  portable  stands  made  of 
wood.  They  consisted  of  several  small  tubes  of  iron,  united 
together,  or  placed  in  rows,  and  discharged  leaden  balls,  or  iron 
missiles  of  a  pyramidal  form,  with  a  square  base.  Louis  Napo- 
leon, in  the  work  above  referred  to,  gives  an  engraving  of  one 
of  those  original  gun-carriages,  described  by  Froissart  and  other 
chroniclers,  under  the  title  of  a  ribaridequin.  It  consists  of  a 
frame,  mounted  on  a  couple  of  wheels,  and  protected  transverse- 
ly in  the  centre  by  a  wooden  screen,  through  which  the  tubes 
pass,  the  latter  being  loaded  at  the  breach  behind  the  screen, 
and  fired  off  in  the  same  manner.  The  back  of  the  carriage  is 
protected  by  lances  and  broad  blades  of  steel,  set  parallel  in 
the  wood-work  with  the  protruding  tubes.  The  plan  of  loading 
at  the  breach,  which  seems,  in  this  case,  to  be  suggested  by  the 
impossibility  of  passing  between  the  lances  to  load  in  front, 
seems,  however,  to  have  been  the  general  system  adopted  from 
the  beginning.  There  is  a  document  in  existence  in  the  archives 
of  the  town  of  St,  Omer,  dating  from  the  year  1342,  which 
shows  that  the  cannon  used  there  were  loaded  in  this  way  ; 
and  it  is  probable  that  the  cannon  employed  by  the  English  at 
Cressy,  were  of  the  same  construction  ;  for,  according  to  the 
An.nv.aire  administralif  of  Gaud,  these  ribandequins  were  alrea- 
dy in  general  use  in  Flanders  in  1347. 

It  is  worthy  of  note  that  most  of  the  modern  improvements 
effected  in  fire-arms,  have  been  suggested  by  clumsy  attempts 
to  carry  out  the  same  idea  in  the  very  infancy  of  the  invention. 
We  have  shown  that  the  new  system  of  loading  at  the  breach, 
is,  in  truth,  but  a  revival  of  the  ancient  practice,  and  any  one 


CANNON. 


267 


who  will  take  the  trouble  to  inspect  the  stand  of  arms  contri- 
buted to  the  Exhibition  from  the  Tower  of  London,  will  be  ra- 
ther surprised  to  see  there  the  original  of  Colt's  celebrated  in- 
vention— a  pistol  with  nine  revolving  barrels,  dating  from  the 
reign  of  one  of  the  Edwards  ! 

The  lead  cannon  which  were  invented  and  employed-  by  the 
Swedes,  between  the  years  1620  and  1632,  in  the  Thirty  Years' 
War,  were  lined  with  tubes  of  wood  or  copper,  and  secured  on 
the  outside  with  iron  rings.  The  art  of  firing  red-hot  balls  from 
cannon  was  invented  by  Major-General  Weiller,  of  the  Electo- 
rate of  Brandenburg.  In  the  commencement  of  the  sixteenth 
century,  Maurice  ofSwitzerland  discovered  a  method  of  casting 
camion  whole,  and  boring  them  so  as  to  draw  out  the  interior 
in  a  single  piece.  Arms  for  expeditious  firing,  loaded  from  the 
breech  and  closed  in  with  a  wedge,  were  introduced  toward  the 
close  of  this  century,  by  Daniel  Spekle,  who  died  in  15S9  ;  and 
some  improvements  on  his  system  were  subsequently  added 
by  UfFanus.  A  person,  named  Millon,  invented  a  kind  of  air 
cannon,  two  feet  long,  three  inches  in  diameter  in  the  thickest 
part,  and  twelve  lines  in  calibre,  charged  with  inflammable  air, 
and  fired  with  a  Ley  den  jar  or  a  piece*  of  catskin,  by  which 
twelve  discharges  could  be  made  in  a  minute.  In  1740,  can- 
nons were  made  of  ice  at  St.  Petersburg,  and  balls  of  many 
pounds'  weight  were  projected  from  them  without  injury  to  the 
pieces.  The  cannon  clock,  invented  by  a  Frenchman  named 
Rousseau,  and  exhibited,  for  some  time,  in  the  gardens  of  the 
Palais  Royal,  and  the  Luxembourg,  although  conducive  to  no 
useful  purpose,  is  yet  deserving  of  notice  for  its  ingenuity.  A 
burning  glass  was  fixed  over  the  vent  of  a  cannon,  so  that  the 
rays  of  the  sun,  at  the  moment  of  its  passing  the  meridian, 
were  concentrated  on  the  priming  of  the  piece,  and  fired  the 
charge.  The  glass  was  regulated  for  this  purpose  every  month. 
The  expansive  power  of  steam  has  also  been  employed  as  a 
projectile  force,  in  connection  with  artillery.  The  idea  was  not 
a  new  one  when  our  countryman,  Perkins,  invented  his  famous 
steam-gun,  but  to  him  belongs  the  merit  of  having  carried  it 
out  successfully.  He  constructed  a,  small  cannon,  which,  when 
connected  with  the  generator  or  boiler,  could  discharge  musket- 


268 


THE  GREAT  EXHIBITION. 


balls  at  the  rate  of  two  hundred  and  forty  in  the  minute ;  and 
with  such  tremendous  force  that,  after  passing  through  an  inch 
board,  the  ball  in  striking  against  an  iron  target,  became  flat- 
tened on  one  side  and  squeezed  out.  The  original  size  of  the 
bullets  was  0.65  of  an  inch,  but  after  striking  the  target  they 
were  plano-convex,  and  their  diameter  1.70  inches  and  0.29  of 
an  inch  thick.  AJb  the  London  Exhibition,  a  model  of  a  war- 
engine  was  shown  by  a  person  named  McGettrick,  which  it  was 
stated  would  discharge  ten  thousand  nine  hundred  charges  of 
ball  cartridge  in  ten  minutes." 

It  was  formerly  the  custom  to  distinguish  pieces  of  artillery  by 
high-sounding  names,  suggested  either  by  the  whim  of  the  found- 
ers, or  by  the  accidental  circumstances  that  gave  them  celebrity. 
Twelve  guns,  cast  by  Louis  XII. ,  were  called  after  the  twelve 
peers  of  France.  Charles  V.  had  also  twelve  pieces  of  artillery, 
which  he  more  humorously  than  reverently  designated,  the  twelve 
Apostles.  A  large  gun  at  Bois  le  Due  was  called  the  Devil ;  a 
sixty  pounder  at  Dover  is  styled  "  Q,ueen  Elizabeth's  Pocket 
Pistol ;"  an  eighty  pounder  at  Berlin  is  called  the  Thunderer ; 
another  at  Malaga,  the  Terrible,  and  two  sixty  pounders  at  Bre- 
men, bear  the  appropriate  title  of  "  The  Messengers  of  bad 
news." 

In  the  beginning  of  the  fifteenth  century,  these  names  were 
abolished,  and  the  following  substituted  for  them  ;  Cannon  Royal, 
or  carthouns  carrying  forty-eight  pounds ;  Bastard  cannon,  or 
three-quarter  carthoun,  thirty-six  pounds  ;  half  carthoun,  twenty- 
four  pounds  ;  whole  Cul verbis,  eighteen  pounds,  demi-culverins, 
nine  pounds ;  falcons,  six  pounds  ;  Sakers,  lowest  sort,  five 
pounds  ;  ordinaries,  six  pounds  ;  largest  sort,  eight  pounds  ;  Basi- 
lisks, forty-eight  pounds  ;  Serpentines,  four  pounds  ;  Aspicks,  two 
pounds ;  Dragons,  six  pounds ;  Sirens,  sixty  pounds ;  Falconets, 
three,  two  and  one  pound  ;  Moyens,  ten  or  twelve  ounces  ;  Robi- 
nets,  sixteen  ounces. 

The  nomenclature  of  artillery  has  subsequently  undergone 
another  change,  and  the  pieces  are  now  distinguished  by  the 
weight  of  the  balls  which  they  carry,  such  as  twelve  pounder, 
six  pounder,  &c.  To  the  uninitiated  in  such  matters,  the  techni- 
cal description  of  a  gun  may  prove  useful.    The  interior  of  a  can- 


CANNON. 


269 


non  is  called  the  bore;  the  solid  piece  behind  is  called  the  breech, 
and  terminates  on  the  button.  The  cylindrical  parts  by  which 
the  gun  is  fixed  upon  its  carriage,  are  called  trunnions,  and  the 
handles  on  brass  pieces  are  called  cloljihins,  from  the  fish  whose 
form  they  represent.  The  diameter  of  the  bore  is  called  the  cali- 
bre of  the  piece,  and  the  difference  between  the  diameters  of  the 
shot  and  the  bore  is  called  the  windage  of  the  gun. 

Until  the  commencement  of  the  present  century,  the  process  of 
casting  cannon  was  attended  with  innumerable  difficulties,  and 
so  little  were  the  fundamental  principles  of  the  art  understood, 
that  we  believe  not  one  out  of  three  of  the  shells  cast  for  mortar 
service  could  be  admitted  into  the  stores.  Owing  to  the  improve- 
ments effected,  not  only  in  the  mode  of  casting  but  in  the  quality 
of  the  metal  itself,  the  results  are  now  reduced  to  something  like 
certainty.  Guns  are  usually  cast  from  metal,  brought  into  the 
fluid  state  in  a  reverberating  furnace,  and  the  moulds  are  formed 
of  loam  or  dry  sand.  Guns  cast  in  loam  do  not  come  from  the 
mould  with  a  surface  so  correctly  resembling  that  of  the  model  as 
those  cast  in  dry  sand  ;  and,  in  order  to  render  the  surface  cor- 
rect, and  to  remedy  defects,  it  was  always  found  necessary  to  sub- 
ject them  to  the  process  of  turning.  In  guns  carefully  cast  in 
dry  sand,  the  latter  process  might  be  dispensed  with  ;  the  gun 
would  then  be  strengthened  by  the  outer  skin  of  metal,  which, 
being  cooled  more  rapidly  than  the  other  parts,  is  the  hardest. 
This  outer  skin  is  also  less  liable  to  rust  than  the  surface  laid  bare 
by  turning.  The  mould  of  a  gun  in  dry  sand,  at  the  same  time 
that  it  is  more  accurate,  is  also  sooner  made,  and  dried,  than  a 
loam  mould.  From  experiments  made  at  Douay,  under  the  direc- 
tion of  Messrs.  Gay,  Lussac  and  D'Arcet,  it  has  been  ascertained 
that  the  addition  of  a  small  proportion  of  iron  into  the  alloy 
doubles  the  force  of  the  resistance. 

Brass  guns  are  subject  to  melt  at  the  interior  extremity  of  the 
touch-hole  from  the  heat  of  rapid  discharges,  and  the  melted  parts 
are  driven  out  by  the  explosion,  so  as  to  render  the  touch-hole  too 
wide.  To  obviate  this,  a  bush  of  copper  is  sometimes  inserted, 
and  on  this  bush  the  touch-hole  is  drilled.  The  copper  being  less 
fusible  than  the  brass,  is  not  liable  to  be  melted  by  the  heat  of 
the  discharges. 


270 


THE  GREAT  EXHIBITION. 


The  display  of  artillery  at  the  London  Exhibition  was  very 
poor,  and  consisted,  for  the  most  part,  of  models.  The  specimens 
of  British  ordnance,  contributed  by  Captain  Tylden,  of  Woolwich, 
formed  the  most  interesting  features  in  it,  as  this  gentleman  has 
acquired  considerable  reputation,  both  as  an  inventor  and  cannon- 
founder.  The  only  other  specimens  exhibited  were  the  model  of 
a  ship's  gun  loaded  at  the  breech,  by  Mr.  Gardner,  of  Lambeth, 
the  model  of  an  improved  gun  or  mortar,  by  the  Hon.  W.  E. 
Fitzmanine,  and  Haughton's  traversing-gun  on  platform. 

Although  the  New- York  Exhibition  can  only  boast  of  one  con- 
tributor— the  Ames  Manufacturing  Company  of  Chicopee,  Massa- 
chusetts— the  specimens  of  brass  ordnance  exhibited,  and  ranging 
from  six  to  eighteen  pounders,  two  of  which  only  are  mounted, 
will  stand  a  comparison  with  those  of  any  other  country.  The 
mathematical  precision  with  which  these  guns  are  cast,  and  the 
care  which  has  been  bestowed  on  the  subsequent  operations  which 
conduce  to  their  embellishment,  prove  at  once  to  the  eye  of  the 
military  visitor  that  this  establishment  possesses  all  the  require- 
ments necessary  to  enable  them  to  compete  successfully  with  any 
of  the  European  foundries.  In  the  mounting  of  the  guns  and 
caissons,  they  have  availed  themselves  of  the  tardy  discovery, 
made  by  coach-makers,  that  force  and  solidity  may  be  obtained 
without  heaviness.  The  wheels  and  frameworks  of  their  gun- 
carriages  are  as  light  and  elegant  as  if  they  were  destined  for 
gentler  usage  than  the  contingencies  of  war.  They  are,  in  reality, 
however,  stronger  and  more  m  durable  than  the  clumsy  vehicles 
that  have  been  hitherto  employed.  The  specimens  exhibited,  as 
made  according  to  regulations  of  the  United  States  service,  are  : 
1,  a  six  pounder,  mounted  on  a  field  carriage,  with  implements 
and  equipments  complete  ;  2,  a  field  caisson  with  implements  and 
equipments,  also  ready  for  service ;  3,  a  field-forge,  with  stores 
and  tools  complete  ;  4,  a  twelve  pounder  mountain  howitzer-car- 
riage with  harness  and  equipments  complete.  All  these  carriages 
combine  the  latest  improvements,  and  comprise  everything  ne- 
cessary for  effective  service  on  the  field. 


CONFECTIONERY. 


271 


XXVII. 

CONFECTIONERY. 

Although  the  juvenile  portion  of  the  community  is  undenia- 
bly deeply  interested  in  all  that  relates  to  Confectionery  or 
"  Candies,"  as  they  delight  to  term  the  majority  of  those  arti- 
cles to  which  we  shall  have  occasion  to  allude,  yet  there  are  so 
many  "children  of  a  larger  growth"  who  have  expended  large 
amounts  of  capital  with  a  view  to  cater  for  the  clamorous  de- 
mands of  young  America  for  sweetmeats,  that  it  is  not  supris- 
ing  to  find  them  largely  represented,  by  means  of  specimens  of 
their  goods,  among  other  more  or  less  important  branches  of 
industrial  art. 

So  far  as  relates  to  confections  made  principally  of  sugar,  the 
United  States  department  may  be  said  to  contain  the  only  spe- 
cimens worth  noticing,  as,  with  the  exception  of  some  excellent 
rock  candy  in  the  Belgian  department,  and  a  very  inferior  spe- 
cimen of  confectionery  in  the  shape  of  lozenges,  "  made  by 
steam-power,"  from  a  Dublin  manufactory,  we  have  seen  none 
worth  any  notice  except  in  that  portion  of  the  building  devoted 
to  American  skill. 

First  among  the  specimens  of  the  chefs  d'ceuvres  of  the  art  of 
working  in  sugar  are  cases  exhibited  by  Struelens  &  Co.  of  this 
city,  which  decidedly  stand  unapproachable  by  any  other  goods 
in  the  same  material  in  the  Crystal  Palace.  Though  this  kind 
of  work,  like  so  many  other  branches  of  industry,  requiring  art- 
istic taste  of  a  high  order,  has  generally  been  produced  jn  the 
greatest  perfection  in  France,  yet  we  have  never  seen,  even  in 
that  country,  anything  of  the  kind  superior  to  that  contained  in 
the  case  under  notice.  The  subject,  too,  of  a  portion  of  their 
contribution,  independently  of  the  novel  materials  employed  in 
its  construction,  appears,  judging  from  the  crowds  by  which  it 
is  always  surrounded,  highly  attractive  to  the  mere  sight-seers, 


272 


THE  GREAT  EXHIBITION. 


consisting  of  a  view  in  Greenwich-street,  embracing  the  arrival 
of  a  number  of  German  immigrants,  and  containing  probably 
not  far  short  of  a  hundred  representations  of  human  figures,  ex- 
clusive of  horses,  vehicles,  &c,  all  wonderfully  life-like.  One 
part  of  the  scene,  however,  is  very  unreal,  proving  the  artists 
to  possess  strong  imaginative  powers,  or  merciless  satirical 
propensities,  indulged  in  with  a  reckless  disregard  to  the  feel- 
ings of  our  city  dignitaries — a  strong  body  of  street-sweepers, 
to  the  number  of  twelve  or  fourteen,  and  all  hard  at  work,  being 
introduced.  The  same  exhibitors  have  likewise  a  frame  of  but- 
terflies, and  stands  of  birds,  also  in  sugar,  and  which,  in  their 
fidelity  to  nature  as  to  form  and  coloring,  and  in  every  other 
respect,  are  really  most  artistic  works,  deserving  of  the  highest 
praise.  There  are  besides,  fruits,  flowers  and  leaves,  equally 
truthful  in  their  details ;  also,  figures  in  French  chocolate,  of 
"rats  and  mice  and  such  small  deer,"  worthy  in  every  respect 
of  their  companion  cases. 

Maillard  &  Co.  have  also  some  ornamental  work,  one  repre 
senting  the  Arch  of  the  Place  du  Carrousel,  at  Paris,  except 
that  the  reliefs  consist  of  the  battles  of  our  War  of  Independ- 
ence and  the  Mexican  Campaigns,  in  place  of  the  original  sub- 
jects. There  is  also  an  imaginative  sketch,  with  a  lake  on  which 
float  gondolas,  while  winged  creatures,  otherwise  in  human 
form,  disport  themselves  therein.  Though  attractive,  these 
sketches  are  by  no  means  comparable  with  the  first-named  con- 
tribution ;  true  anatomical  proportions  of  the  men  and  women 
being  totally  disregarded,  while  the  color  of  some  of  the  infe- 
rior animals  would  utterly  amaze  any  mere  earthly  jockey. 

The  chocolate  preparations  of  Mendes  &  Martin,  as  well  as 
some  other  articles  of  confectionery,  in  the  same  case,  also 
merit  attention. 

The  French  department  contains  a  variety  of  preparations  in 
chocolates,  also  an  extensive  show  of  flavoring  essences  and  col- 
oring matter.  Some  of  the  ornamental  boxes  for  the  reception 
of  confectionery  are  very  beautiful,  exhibiting  all  the  delicacy 
and  chasteness  which  have  rendered  the  workmen  of  France  so 
famous.  Among  the  most  beautiful  is  a  collection  of  fancy 
bon-bon  cases,  exhibited  by  SalTeron  of  Paris. 


CONFECTIONERY. 


273 


The  confectionery  trade,  as  such  of  our  readers  not  "  without 
incumbrances,"  (as  the  advertisements  have  it,)  may  possibly 
be  aware,  from  the  repeated  occasions  in  which  they  have  their 
attention  called  to  the  various  44  candy  stores"  they  encounter 
in  their  walks  when' accompanied  by  their  sweet-palated  young 
olive-branches,  is  carried  on  to  a  large  extent  in  this  city,  as 
nearly  three  hundred  houses  are  engaged  in  the  trade  either  as 
manufacturers  or  retail  dealers  ;  some  of  the  latter,  however, 
carrying  on  business  on  a  very  limited  scale.  About  twelve 
establishments  are  occupied  exclusively  in  manufacturing  for  the 
trade  ;  though  there  are,  beside,  many  store-keepers  who  make 
a  considerable  proportion  of  the  goods  required  for  their  own 
customers.  Of  these  twelve,  there  are  three  confined  almost 
solely  to  the  making  of  what  is  termed  French  confectionery, 
while  the  remaining  nine  deal  in  general  goods  connected  with 
the  trade.  They  also  vary  much  in  the  extent  of  their  estab- 
lishments— one  house  in  the  busy  season  giving  employment  to 
more  than  a  hundred  hands,  male  and  female,  though  the  same 
firm  at  another  period  of  the  year  will  not  be  able  to  find  occu- 
pation for  more  than  thirty  or  forty.  The  men  are  divided 
into  various  callings — modelers,  cooks,  engine-drivers,  where  they 
use  steain-power,  and  common  laborers  ;  the  latter,  a  very 
under-paid  and  over-worked  body  of  men,  being  subject  to  an 
intense  heat  which  they  endeavor  to  mitigate,  as  in  the  sugar 
refineries  proper,  by  divesting  themselves  of  all  superfluous  cloth- 
ing. The  services  of  such  as  these,  under  certain  firms,  are 
considered  highly  remunerated  with  five  dollars  a  week,  many 
not  getting  more  than,  some  not  so  much  as,  sixteen  dollars  a 
month !  The  remainder  are  paid  from  six  to  nine  dollars  a 
week,  a  medium  between  the  two  being  an  average  price 
throughout  the  trade.  Girls  are  employed  in  arranging  the 
confectionery  in  the  boxes,  and  similar  light  work,  for  which 
they  are  allowed  about  fifty  cents  a  day.  During  the  busy  sea- 
son, there  are  engaged  in  this  city,  in  the  manufacturing  houses, 
about  five  hundred  persons  of  both  sexes,  though  a  very  much 
larger  number,  probably  some  thousands,  are  indirectly  sup- 
ported  by  it,  the  paper-box  makers  being  generally  busily 

12* 


274 


THE  GREAT  EXHIBITION. 


employed,  and  many  children  gaining  a  livelihood  by  hawking 
i:  candies"  through  the  streets. 

The  city  of  New  York  is  the  head-quarters  of  the  confection- 
ery trade,  supplying  as  much  as  all  the  rest  of  the  Union  toge- 
ther, and  distributing  the  results  of  its  industry  to  all  parts  of 
the  States,  as  well  as  to  Canada,  most  of  the  West  India  Islands, 
Mexico,  Chili,  and  many  other  places.  To  provide  the  means 
of  meeting  such  a  demand,  the  agency  of  steam  is  necessary, 
and  a  large  outlay  of  money  is  therefore  expended  in  machinery 
alone,  though  it  is  extremely  difficult  to  ascertain  the  real 
amount  invested  in  this  kind  of  property  in  the  city.  It  is 
worthy  of  notice  that  the  chocolate-mills  used  here  by  those  dis- 
tinguished in  the  trade  as  French  Confectioners,  from  their  imi- 
tating to  perfection  the  foreign  articles,  are  all  imported,  not  on 
account  of  any  superiority  in  the  machinery  itself,  but  from 
the  impossibility  of  procuring  separately  a  peculiar  stone  known 
as  the  Pyrenean  Granite,  which  alone  will  answer  the  purpose 
required  ;  and  hence  it  is  necessary  to  introduce,  at  a  great  ex- 
pense, an  article  of  foreign  manufacture,  that  but  for  the  stone, 
could  be  made  quite  as  well,  and  much  more  cheaply  at  home. 

It  is  estimated  that  fully  $1,000,000  worth  of  confectionery 
is  made  annually  in  this  city,  and  by  that  term,  we  mean  pre- 
parations of  sugar,  chocolate,  jujube  paste,  &c.,'but  exclude 
many  articles,  which  properly  come  under  the  denomination, 
such  as  ice-creams,  jellies,  blanc-manges,  pastry,  and  other  deli- 
cacies, which  would  run  up  the  amount  to  perhaps  double. 
Two  of  the  principal  houses  manufacture  daily  between  them 
four  thousand  pounds  of  "  candies,"  at  prices  varying  from 
fourteen  to  fifty  cents  per  pound,  the  average  being  about 
twenty  cents ;  and  this  is  exclusive  of  lozenges,  three  hundred 
boxes  of  which  are  sold  weekly  by  a  certain  firm,  each  contain- 
ing ninety-six  paper  packages,  such  as  are  sold  in  stores,  and 
each  package  twenty  lozenges,  making  a  total  of  nearly  six 
hundred  thousand  !    What  can  become  of  them  all  1 

In  view  of  this  enormous  consumption,  principally  by  child- 
ren, parents  will  be  inclined  to  ask,  what  candy  is,  and  what 
effect  it  has  in  a  medicinal  point  of  view  1  It  is  unnecessary  to 
mention   the   endless  forms  which  this  confection  assumes, 


CONFECTIONERY. 


275 


whether  as  drops,  plums,  comfits,  sticks,  or  other  enticing  shapes, 
but  in  any  of  these  it  is  supposed  to  consist  only  of  sugar  highly 
refined,  (though  by  different  processes  from  that  used  in  the 
sugar-house,)  undergoing  in  each  case  some  slight  variety  of 
preparation,  and  flavored  variously  to  meet  the  tastes  of  differ- 
ent customers,  the  coloring,  effected  by  some  harmless  vegeta- 
ble matter,  also  being  diverse,  to  make  a  greater  attraction  for 
the  purchaser.  When  thus  compounded,  these  sweetmeats  are 
evidently  quite  harmless,  if  taken  in  moderation,  though  it  is 
otherwise  when  allowed,  as  is  the  case  in  many  instances,  to 
become  almost  the  staple  article  of  food. for  a  child,  as  common 
sense  alone  ought  to  indicate. 

But  most  of  the  confectionery  imported  from  foreign  coun- 
tries, and  a  proportion,  though  a  very  inconsiderable  one,  of  the 
home-made  article,  is  not  manufactured  of  such  innocent  mate- 
rials ;  on  the  contrary,  substances  of  a  nature  highly  dangerous 
to  life,  if  admitted  in  large  quantities  into  the  system,  are 
known  to  be  used.  Indeed,  to  such  an  extent  has  this  been 
carried  abroad  that  in  France  it  has  been  found  necessary  to 
pass  stringent  laws  to  protect  the  candy-consuming  portion  of 
the  public  from  the  effects  of  the  unscrupulous  traders  in  arti- 
cles of  sweetmeats  ;  while  in  the  city  of  York,  in  England, 
within  two  years,  after  a  public  dinner  at  which  certain  con- 
serves were  supplied,  several  of  the  guests  were  seized  with 
sickness  brought  on  from  partaking  of  sweetmeats  colored  or 
flavored  with  poisonous  ingredients.  It  is,  however,  principally 
in  the  coloring  matter,  so  far  as  relates  to  foreign  confections, 
that  these  noxious  ingredients  are  to  be  found,  as  mineral  agents 
are  adopted  in  preference  to  vegetable  with  the  object,  thus  at- 
tainable, of  procuring  a  brighter  and  more  enduring  color,  for 
which  purpose  verdigris,  among  other  poisons,  is  used — an  arti- 
cle, as  our  readers  are  well  aware,  possessed  of  the  most  delete- 
rious qualities.  The  flavoring  essences,  too,  are  not  always  less 
hurtful.  Dr.  Letheby,  an  eminent  English  toxicologist,  and 
who  from  his  position  may  probably  be  reasonably  accepted  as 
an  authority,  states  as  the  result  of  an  inquiry  into  the  cause  of 
a  fatal  case  he  had  attended  in  the  person  of  a  patient  who  had 
been  suddenly  attacked  immediately  after  partaking  of  some 


276 


THE  GREAT  EXHIBITION. 


sweetmeats,  that  the.  presence  of  the  essential  oil  of  bitter 
almonds,  a  deadly  poison,  in  the  comestible  he  had  examined, 
was  clearly  apparent. 

In  this  country,  however,  where  the  use  of  confections  is  in  a 
great  degree  encouraged  among  all  classes,  a  little  additional 
"beauty,  vividness,  and  durability  of  coloring,  are  very  properly 
sacrificed,  by  all  respectable  manufacturers,  to  the  more  im- 
portant consideration  of  procuring  a  wholesome  article — hence 
all  mineral  coloring  matters  are  rejected,  and  some  simple  vege- 
table agent,  such  as  saffron,  for  instance,  if  a  yellow  is  required, 
substituted  ;  while  the  flavoring  ingredients  are  equally  harm- 
less ;  and  we  have  no  reason  to  suppose  otherwise  than  that 
this  precaution  extends  to  nearly  all  the  candies  actually  made 
here,  and  only  wish  our  remarks  to  be  understood  as  referring 
to  such  conserves  as  are  in  reality  imported,  and  not  to  the 
imitations  of  foreign  articles  made  in  this  city. 

By  the  way,  we  may  here  mention,  as  bearing  on  the  subject, 
one  of  the  many  strange  shifts  that  some  people  are  compelled 
to  make  in  this  Babylon  of  ours  to  obtain  the  means  of  exist- 
ence. There  are  men  who  go  round  periodically  to  the  sugar 
refineries  and  collect  all  the  drainings  of  molasses  to  be  gathered 
in  the  largest  establishments,  deriving  these  "perquisites" 
almost  solely  from  the  floors  and  walls,  which  are  often  com- 
pletely daubed  with  the  sweet  sprinklings.  As  these  individuals 
are  not,  as  a  class,  troubled  with  weak  stomachs,  or  squeam- 
ishness  in  any  shape,  they  very  impartially  take  any  other  kind 
of  dirt,  of  whatever  nature,  that  may  have  found  its  way  to  the 
places  to  be  scraped  ;  the  gatherings  are  then  taken  home,  and 
cleansed  as  much  as  possible  of  the  impurities,  when  they  are 
converted  into  "  'lasses  candy,"  or  peanut  cakes,  for  the  espe- 
cial use  and  behoof  of  juveniles  possessed  of  slender  purses  and 
a  constitutional  tendency  to  sweetmeats  in  any  shape.  It  was 
possibly  one  of  these  young  Goths  whom  we  heard  exclaim,  at 
the  Crystal  Palace,  while  gazing  at  the  beautiful  specimens  we 
have  indicated,  and  which  are  protected  by  glass  cases,  44  Don't 
I  wish  I  could  get  through  to  them,  just !" 

To  compare  merits,  it  may  be  stated  that  foreign  confection- 
ery displays  much  more  beauty  in  design  and  attention  to 


CONFECTIONERY. 


211 


appearances  than  the  American,  which  latter,  while  as  a  general 
rule  unpretending  in  outward  display,  has  the  immense  advan- 
tage of  rarely  containing  unwholesome  ingredients.  But  in 
some  articles,  the  French  especially  have  no  competitors,  such, 
for  instance,  as  their  delicious  preparations  of  chocolate,  which 
are  quite  free  from  any  objectionable  qualities,  and  form  a  very 
wholesome  beverage. 

But  there  is  one  branch  of  business  connected  with  this  trade 
in  which  the  Americans  are  lamentably  behind  all  the  European 
manufacturers,  and  in  which  the  French  bear  away  the  palm  of 
superiority  from  all  tlie  world.  We  refer  to  the  boxes  in 
which  the  confectionery  is  exhibited.  It  is  true  the  specimens 
of  domestic  manufacture  are  so  very  limited  in  number,  as  to 
allow  us  to  say  that  this  trade  is  there  quite  unrepresented  ;  but 
the  beauty  of  those  in  the  French  department  led  us  to  inves- 
tigate farther  into  the  comparative  merits  of  the  products  of  this 
branch  of  the  skill  of  the  two  countries,  and  with  this  object  we 
waited  on  one  of  the  leading  importers  of  fancy  paper  boxes 
and  visited  some  American  manufactories.  In  the  former, 
many  most  beautiful  specimens  were  exhibited  to  us,  one  being 
elegantly  enamelled,  another  adorned  with  a  pretty  colored 
engraving,  and  a  third  ornamented  with  a  handsomely  worked 
flower  on  a  silk  or  satin  ground ;  while  in  the  less  pretending, 
a  tasty  appearance  was  always  observed.  In  value,  there  was 
of  course  a  considerable  range  of  prices,  extending  from  a 
merely  nominal  sum  to  as  high  as- ten  and  twelve  dollars  per 
box.  In  the  American  establishments  very  few  attempts,  and 
those  not  by  any  means  creditable,  at  originality  or  diversity, 
were  made,  and,  equally  in  the  best  as  in  the  wwst,  most  of 
the  articles  of  which  the  boxes  were  composed,  even  down  to 
the  little  colored  engravings,  were  of  foreign  manufacture — the 
pasteboard  alone  being  home-made.  All  the  cosaques,  fancy 
baskets  and  envelopes,  and  even  the  paper  in  which  the  "  kisses" 
and  other  confections  are  wrapped,  are  imported  goods.  As  a 
growing  trade  is  springing  up  in  these  articles,  and  as,  in  the 
last-named  especially,  there  seems  but  little  difficulty  to  encoun- 
ter, it  is  a  matter  of  surprise  that  its  domestic  manufacture  is 
not  attempted. 


218 


THE  GREAT  EXHIBITION. 


With  respect  to  the  nationality  of  the  workmen  employed  in 
New  York,  in  the  three  establishments  engaged  principally  in 
the  manufacutre  of  imitations  of  French  confectionery,  in  its 
most  recherche  style,  the  majority  of  the  men  are  from  France 
and  Belgium,  with  a  considerable  number  of  Germans  ;  while 
in  the  other  houses,  making  up  general  articles  of  confectionery, 
but  little  regard  appears  to  be  had  to  country,  the  best  work- 
men, very  properly,  being  engaged,  irrespective  of  any  other 
consideration. 


SOAPS  AND  PERFUMERY. 


279 


XXVIII. 

SOAPS  AND  PERFUMERY. 

It  was,  we  believe,  the  celebrated  chemist  Liebig  who  ob- 
served, that  "  we  might  estimate  the  conditions  of  comfort  and 
civilization  of  a  people  by  the  quantity  of  soap  which  they  con- 
sume." Although  there  is  a  great  deal  of  truth  in  the  remark, 
we  cannot  admit  the  uniform  justice  of  its  application.  We 
once  knew  a  man  of  a  highly  intellectual  and  cultivated  mind 
whose  personal  habits  were  so  disgusting  as  to  justify  the  obser- 
vation of  a  witty  Irishman,  that  "  he  was  the  dirtiest  fellow  liv- 
ing, although  he  had  more  soap  in  his  shop  and  more  water 
running  by  his  door  than  any  man  in  the  Union."  We  might 
go  farther,  and,  but  for  the  fear  of  exciting  certain  lively  sus- 
ceptibilities, point  out  some  national  exceptions  to  the  axiom, 
in  which  we  do  not  find  luxurious  tastes  and  great  refinement 
accompanied  by  a  corresponding  attention  to  cleanliness.  The 
only  way  in  which  this  anomaly  can  be  accounted  for  is  by  the 
fact  that  the  cement  familiarly  but  inelegantly  termed  soft  soap 
enters  rather  too  largely  into  the  composition  of  their  vernacu- 
lar, and  that  consequently  they  cannot  afford  to  make  any  very 
liberal  use  of  the  article  on  their  persons. 

We  presume  that  it  is  for  a  reason  precisely  the  inverse  of 
the  above  that  the  manufacture  and  use  of  soap  have  grown 
into  such  importance  among  us.  Of  all  nations  we  may  be  said 
to  be  the  least  addicted  to  the  use  of  saponaceous  compounds  in 
our  speech,  while  commercially  speaking,  we  are  large  consum- 
ers of  them.  We  are  emphatically  a  cleanly  people — perhaps 
of  all  nations  the  most  so — passionately  fond  of  the  bath ;  deli- 
cately nice  respecting  the  quality  and  odor  of  our  soaps,  and 
shaving-creams,  and  particular  to  a  shade  about  the  color  and 
rigidity  of  our  linen.    With  us  have  originated  all  the  recent 


230 


THE  GREAT  EXHIBITION. 


improvements  in  that  important  auxiliary  of  social  economy — 
the  smoothing-iron ;  and,  if  we  mistake  not,  that  never  to  be 
highly  enough  appreciated  process  for  enamelling  shirt-collars! 
If  a  stranger  wishes  for  any  other  evidence  of  the  neatness  of 
our  personal  habits,  let  him  stroll  into  the  Exhibition.  He  will 
there  find  the  places  of  honor  assigned  to  the  barber,  the  tailor, 
and  the  perfumer  ;  he  may  even  stumble  upon  a  learned  pro- 
fessor, demonstrating  to  an  admiring  female  audience  a  new 
and  scientific  mode  of  cutting  out  their  dresses.  If  he  be  a  lover 
of  statuary,  he  will  stop  to  admire  the  busts  of  Franklin,  Wash- 
ington, Clay,  and  Calhoun — of  architecture,  a  huge  pillar  (order 
unknown) — of  window-staining,  a  rich  specimen  of  medieval 
art,  all  in — soap.  Be  he  curious  on  the  autographs  of  the 
great,  he  will  have  an  opportunity  of  examining  testimonials 
from  ex-Presidents,  ex-Secretaries  of  State,  and  learned  judges, 
as  to  the  soothing  and  softening  properties  of  the  savon  rose,  or 
the  miraculously  hair-restoring  effects  of  the  chemical  Kathairon. 
In  short,  our  admiration  of  soap  is  carried  almost  to  the  ex- 
treme of  a  passion.  If  there  be  any  truth  in  the  maxim  of  Sir 
Edward  Coke,  that  "  external  neatness  denotes  internal  purity, " 
we  ought  to  be  one  of  the  most  immaculate  and  spotless  of 
nations. 

Before  we  proceed  to  notice  the  various  improvements  in  the 
articles  of  soap  and  perfumery  upon  which  the  exhibitors  found 
their  claims  to  public  patronage,  a  few  observations  respecting 
the  nature  and  progress  of  these  manufactures  may  not  be  un- 
acceptable to  our  readers.  Soap  is  obtained  by  the  action  of 
alkalis  upon  oily  substances,  and,  as  these  ingredients  are  numer- 
ous, the  character  of  the  article  produced  from  them  is  suscep- 
tible of  a  great  variety  of  modifications.  The  soaps  in  general 
use,  however,  may  be  classed  under  three  heads.  1.  Fine 
white  and  scented  soaps.  2.  Coarse  household  soaps.  3.  Soft 
soaps.  The  materials  employed  in  the  manufacture  of  white 
soaps  are  generally  olive  oil  and  carbonate  of  soda.  Perfumes 
and  various  coloring  matters  are  occasionally  added  when  the 
soap  is  in  a  semi-fluid  state,  and  in  this  way  a  great  variety  of 
fancy  soaps  are  obtained.  In  order  to  produce  marbled,  or,  as 
it  is  more  generally  known,  Spanish  Soap,  a  solution  of  sulphate 


SOAPS  AND  PERFUMERY. 


281 


of  iron  is  mixed  with  the  soap,  the  action  of  which  decomposes 
the  iron  and  separates  the  black  oxyde  in  streaks  and  patches 
through  the  mass.  The  action  of  the  air  converts  the  exterior 
into  red  oxyde,  but  the  interior  retains  its  black  color,  so  that 
a  section  of  a  roll  or  cake  of  this  soap  presents  a  black  mottled 
centre,  surrounded  by  a  red  external  layer.  The  common 
household  soaps  are  principally  made  of  soda  and  tallow.  If 
potash  be  used,  a  large  addition  of  common  salt  will  be  found 
necessary  to  harden  the  soap,  which  it  probably  effects  by  the 
transference  of  the  soda.  Yellow  soap  has  a  portion  of  resin 
added  to  it.  Soft  soaps  are  made  with  potash  instead  of  soda 
and  fish  and  vegetable  oils  ;  it  has  a  tenacious  consistence,  and 
appears  granulated.  Soap  is  soluble  in  pure  water  and  alcohol  ; 
the  latter  solution  jellies  when  concentrated,  and  is  medically 
known  under  the  name  of  opodeldoc.  When  carefully  evapo- 
rated, the  soap  remains  in  a  gelatinous  state,  which  forms,  when 
dry,  the  article  sold  under  the  name  of  transparent  soap.  All 
new  soaps  contain  a  considerable  portion  of  adhering  water,  a 
great  part  of  which  they  lose  when  kept  in  a  dry  place ;  hence 
the  economy  and  excellence  of  old  soap,  and  hence  the  dealers 
in  soap  generally  keep  it  in  a  damp  cellar,  that  it  may  not  lose 
weight  by  evaporation,  or,  as  it  is  said,  sometimes,  immerse  it 
in  a  brine,  which  does  not  dissolve  it,  but  keeps  it  in  its  utmost 
state  of  humidity. 

The  exports  of  American  soap  and  tallow  candles  were,  for 
the  years  1847  and  1849  respectively,  of  the  value  in  1847,  of 
$606,798,  and  in  1849,  of  $670,223." 

The  manufacture  of  perfumery  requires  great  nicety  and  care 
in  the  distillation  of  the  essences  and  the  preparation  of  the  oils 
and  pomades.  The  essential  oils  obtained  in  the  south  of 
Trance,  are  those  of  roses, 'neroli,  petit-grain,  lavender,  wild 
thyme,  thyme  and  rosemary.  These  essences  are  distilled  in 
the  usual  manner.  Prom  forty  pounds  of  rose-leaves  and 
thirty  pints  of  water  about  fifteen  pints  of  rose  water  are  first 
obtained  by  distillation.  The  operation  is  then  continued  until 
the  quantity  amounts  to  two  hundred  pints  of  water,  termed 
No.  1.  In  this  first  distillation,  an  almost  imperceptible  quan- 
tity of  the  essence  of  roses  is  obtained,  but  in  the  second  it 


282 


THE  GREAT  EXHIBITION. 


becomes  more  apparent,  and  finally  in  the  fifth  it  becomes 
notable.  In  the  distillation  of  orange  flowers  is  also  obtained  the 
essence  of  neroli,  now  become  an  article  of  great  importance. 
To  make  it,  the  ordinary  process  is  followed ;  the  waters  of  the 
first  distillation  being  repassed  upon  the  new.  When,  however, 
it  is  intended  to  prepare  orange-flower  water  of  a  good  quality, 
only  a  fifth  part  of  the  water  placed  in  the  cucurbit  is  drawn 
off.  There  are  two  modes  of  making  pomades,  namely :  by, 
and  without  infusion.  By  the  former  process,  rose,  orange- 
flower,  and  cassia  are  prepared  ;  by  the  latter,  jasmine,  tube- 
rose, jonquil,  narcissus,  and  violet.  Each  process  is  exceedingly 
troublesome,  and  requires  minute  attention,  some  of  the  pomades 
taking  as  long  as  two  or  three  months  to  prepare.  No  less  than 
twenty  scented  pomades  are  distinguished  by  the  perfumers  of 
Paris.  The  essences  usually  employed  in  their  manufacture 
are  those  of  bergamot,  lemons,  codrate,  limette  (sweet  lemon) 
Portugal,  rosemary,  thyme,  lemon  thyme,  lavender,  marjoram, 
and  cinnamon.  The  scented  oils  are  also  prepared  either  by 
infusion,  as  in  the  case  of  rose,  orange-flower,  and  cassia,  or,  by 
saturating  with  the  oil  for  a  period  of  seven  or  eight  days  the 
fresh  flowers.  All  delicate  flowers,  such  as  the  jasmine,  tube- 
rose, jonquil,  and  violet,  are  subjected  to  this  latter  process.  In 
making  odoriferous  extracts  and  waters,  the  spirits  of  the 
flowers,  prepared  by  macerating  the  latter  in  alcohol,  should  be 
preferred  to  their  distillation,  as  forming  the  foundation  of  good 
perfumery.  In  the  preparation  of  eau  de  Cologne,  two  processes 
are  resorted  to,  namely,  distillation  and  infusion.  The  only 
essences  which  should  be  employed,  and  which  have  given  such 
celebrity  to  this  water,  are  bergamot,  lemon,  rosemary,  Portu- 
gal, and  neroii.  They  should  all  be  of  the  best  quality,  but 
their  proportions  may  be  varied  to  suit  the  taste  of  the  pur- 
chaser. Of  almond  pastes  there  are  three  varieties,  namely  : 
gray,  sweet  white  and  bitter  white.  The  first  is  made  either 
with  the  kernel  of  apricots  or  with  bitter  almonds.  They  are 
winnowed,  ground,  and  formed  into  loaves  of  five  or  six  pounds' 
weight,  which  are  put  into  the  press  in  order  to  extract  their 
oil  ;  three  hundred  pounds  of  almonds  yielding  about  one  hun- 
dred and  thirty  pounds  of  oil.    The  pressure  is  increased  upon 


SOAPS  AND  PERFUMERY. 


283 


them  every  two  hours  during  three  days,  at  the  end  of  which 
time  the  loaves  or  cakes  are  taken  out  of  the  press  to  be 
ground,  dried  and  sifted. 

As  may  be  gathered  from  our  opening  observations,  there 
are  no  manufactures  so  well  represented  at  our  Exhibition  as 
those  of  soap  and  perfumery.  There  are  no  articles  capable  of 
such  an  infinite  variety  of  modifications — the  discovery  of  a 
new  perfume,  or  the  novel  combination  of  several  known  ones, 
constituting,  in  the  eyes  of  the  soap-maker  or  perfumer,  a 
claim  to  a  speciality.  Of  soaps,  we  have  accordingly  a  vast 
assortment,  the  peculiarities  of  which  are  calculated  to  meet  all 
the  caprices  of  fashion  and  the  whims  of  the  most  fastidious. 
They  are,  however,  like  the  nicer  shades  of  color  in  a  picture, 
difficult  to  appreciate  and  arbitrary  in  their  distinctions.  The 
name  and  label  of  a  favorite  maker  are  sufficient  to  stamp 
immediate  popularity  on  a  new  article,  without  any  reference 
to  its  merits,  just  as  the  eccentric  productions  of  some  well- 
known  painter  pass  current  with  the  multitude,  without  any 
distinct  comprehension  of  the  qualities  that  constitute  their 
excellence.  To  keep  pace  with  this  insatiable  thirst  for  novelty, 
all  the  resources  of  chemical  science  seem  to  be  taxed  to  the 
uttermost.  There  is  scarcely  a  discovery  effected  in  the  labor- 
atory which  is  not  immediately  applied  to  the  production  of 
new  tints  or  perfumes  in  the  manufactures  of  which  we  are 
treating.  Whether  this  indiscriminate  employment  of  metallic 
oxydes  and  subtle  essences  is  beneficial  or  injurious  to  the 
action  of  the  pores  of  the  skin,  seems  to  matter  little  in  the 
commercial  calculations  of  the  manufacturer.  As  in  the  coloring 
of  confectionery,  we  believe  that  in  many  instances  the  use  of 
these  powerful  chemical  agents  must  be  highly  detrimental  to 
the  health. 

Of  soaps  and  shaving-creams,  the  samples  shown  exhibit  an 
amusing  variety  in  their  nomenclature;  We  have  the  genuine 
Yankee  soap;  the  Congress  shaving  tablet;  the  gentlemen's 
favorite;  the  ladies'  favorite;  the  Windsor  brown;  the  lily 
white;  the  transparent;  the  military;  the  rough  and  ready; 
the  jockey  club;  the  rainbow;  the  tricolor;  the  mosaic;  the 
tesselated  ;  the  oleophane ;  the  amber  ;  the  honey;  the  orange ; 


284 


THE  GREAT  EXHIBITION. 


the  lemon;  the  almond;  the  rose;  the  violet;  the  verbena; 
the  myrtle ;  the  heliotrope  ;  the  patchouli ;  the  musk  ;  the 
lavender;  the  sweet  clover;  the  sweet  pea;  the  national 
shaving-cream  (for  the  million  !)  the  cythejean  ;  the  ambrosial 
and  the  Panariston  shaving-creams. 

Of  perfumes,  we  have  an  equally  boundless  choice.  There 
is  the  treble  extract  of  the  upper  ten,  a  rare  essence !  The 
poppinack  ;  the  mille  fleurs ;  the  amaryllis ;  the  veti vert;  the 
boquet  Californienne  ;  the  otto  de  rose  ;  the  prairie  flower ;  the 
mignionette  ;  the  winter-blossom  ;  the  hawthorn  ;  the  meadow- 
flower  ;  the  bergamot,  and  extracts  too  numerous  to  mention, 
of  almost  every  flower  that  grows. 

Of  pomades  and  oils,  wre  have  the  philocome  ;  the  ursine ; 
the  pure  ox  marrow  (of  simple  but  sterling  pretensions ;)  and 
the  pomade  divine  ! 

Of  hair-dyes  and  invigorators,  we  have  of  course  Phalon's, 
Ballard's,  Brown's,  and  Christiani's,  with,  to  us  poor  sexagena- 
rians, cheering  and  conclusive  specimens  of  their  restorative 
effects.  Some  of  the  tints,  it  is  true,  appear  rather  purple  in 
the  sunshine ;  but  as,  like  the  owls,  we  only  make  our  appear- 
ance at  night,  our  youthful  proclivities,  as  a  contemporary 
would  say,  may  escape  detection. 

In  soaps  and  perfumery,  as  in  most  other  manufactures  that 
minister  to  the  luxurious  tastes  of  the  wealthier  classes,  the 
French  continue  to  maintain  the  pre-eminence  which  they  have 
so  long  enjoyed.  Although  the  American  manufacturers  have 
made  rapid  progress  in  the  imitation  of  their  best  articles,  they 
have  been  unable  as  yet  to  drive  their  competitors  out  of  the 
market.  The  old  prejudice  which  exists  in  favor  of  French 
perfumery  has,  no  doubt,  much  to  do  with  this ;  but  at  the 
same  time  it  must  be  confessed  that  it  is,  in  a  great  degree, 
owing  to  the  superior  quality  of  the  articles  themselves.  The 
quantity  of  French  perfumery  consumed  in  the  States  must  be 
immense;  there  is  in  fact  scarcely  a  drug-store  throughout  the 
Union  in  which  the  sale  of  it  does  not  constitute  an  important 
item  of  its  trade.  As  usual,  however,  the  tide  of  popularity 
seems  to  run  in  favor  of  one  maker.  The  articles  produced  by 
him  are  no  doubt  excellent,  but  we  cannot  help  thinking  that 


SOAPS  AND  PERFUMERY. 


285 


the  pastoral  name  in  which  he  rejoices,  has  contributed  in  no 
small  degree  to  his  success.  "What  a  delicious  perfume! 
whose  is  it  V  "  Lubin's."  "  Ah  !  I  thought  so  ;  what  a  charm- 
ing name  for  a  distiller  of  honey-suckle  !".  And  thus  are  repu- 
tations made.  It  will  perhaps  surprise  those  who  are  so  entiche 
with  this  manufacturer's  productions,  to  learn,  that  in  the 
European  capitals  they  are  comparatively  unknown.  If  they 
ever  were  current  there,  they  seem  to  have  gone  out  with  the 
pastoral  age. 

The  perfumes  most  in  vogue  in  the  fashionable  circles  of 
London  and  Paris  are  those  of  Guerlain,  Piver,  and  Houbigant 
Chardin.  The  productions  of  these  makers  are  scarcely  known 
here,  but  a  small  quantity  of  them  finding  their  way  into  the 
market.  Mougenet  and  Coudray  and  Mailly,  names  of  inferior 
mark,  seem  to  be,  next  to  Lubin,  the  favorite  manufacturers. 

Although  in  the  preparation  of  extracts  the  American  per- 
fumers have  not  as  yet  attained  the  same  degree  of  skill  as  the 
French,  some  of  the  fancy  soaps  which  they  produce  are  fully 
equal  to  them  in  quality.  Bazin  of  Philadelphia,  the  successor 
of  the  well-known  Roussell,  makes  as  fine  soaps  as  any  in  the 
world.  Very  little  inferior  to  them,  if  at  all,  are  the  soaps  of 
Jules  Hauel  of  the  same  city.  There  is  no  doubt  that  these 
productions  must  eventually  succeed  in  driving  the  French 
soaps  out  of  the  market. 

In  the  inferior  and  cheaper  class  of  soaps,  the  articles  made 
by  Colgate,  Hall,  and  the  Messrs.  Taylors,  of  Philadelphia, 
seem  to  be  most  generally  in  use.  The  transparent  soaps, 
manufactured  by  the  latter  gentlemen,  are  as  fine  as  any  that 
can  be  produced.  We  have  already  alluded  to  a  gothic  window 
contributed  by  them,  the  panes  of  which  are  composed  of  trans- 
parent, or  rather  translucent  soap,  in  a  great  variety  of  tints. 
The  effect  is  almost  as  perfect  as  that  of  stained  glass. 

The  importation  of  English  soaps  and  perfumery  is  still  con- 
siderable, although  we  have  succeeded  in  producing  here  as  good 
brown  Windsor  as  any  that  issues  from  the  manufactories  of 
Cleaver  or  Low.  The  articles  most  in  favor  with  us  used  to  be 
those  of  Low,  Ede  and  Patey.  The  first  was  celebrated  for  his 
soaps,  the  second  for  his  essences,  and  the  third  for  his  pomades 


286 


THE  GREAT  EXHIBITION. 


and  cold  creams.  Cleaver's*  articles,  however,  seem  to  be  now 
fast  superseding  those  of  every  other  maker.  His  honey  soap 
made  the  reputation  and  fortune  of  his  house.  When  first 
introduced,  the  run  upon  it  was  so  great  that,  although  the 
price  was  raised  considerably,  it  was  found  impossible  to  keep 
pace  with  the  demand.  The  sterling  quality  and  low  prices  of 
this  manufacturer's  goods  render  him  a  formidable  competitor 
to  the  other  foreign  houses. 

The  importation  of  eau-de-Cologne  used  to  be  considerable  at 
one  period,  but  it  has  fallen  off  greatly  since  our  chemists  have 
commenced  manufacturing  it.  The  original  preparation  of 
Farina  seems  to  be  fast  losing  the  reputation  it  once  enjoyed. 
That  of  Zenoli,  another  Cologne  house,  seems  to  be  preferred  by 
those  who  consider  themselves  judges  of  the  article,  and  we 
have  even  heard  it  asserted  that  the  preparations  of  some  of  our 
own  manufacturers  are  equal  if  not  superior  to  it.  As  regards 
ourselves,  we  have  an  old  and  it  may  be  an  unfounded  prejudice 
in  favor  of  the  original  receipt.  We  fancy  that  in  all  these  new 
preparations  we  get  what  is  called  the  spent  odor  of  the  perfume 
after  it  has  been  a  few  minutes  in  use. 

Although  Meakim's  extracts  for  flavoring  confectionery  can 
hardly  be  said  to  come  within  the  limits  of  this  article,  they  are 
deserving  of  some  notice  at  our  hands.  They  are  valuable 
auxiliaries  in  household  economy,  and  may  be  used  without 
apprehension,  great  care  having  been  exercised  in  their  prepara- 
tion to  avoid  all  noxious  ingredients. 

In  the  articles  of  soap  and  perfumery,  there  are  from  the 
City  and  State  of  New  York  seventeen  contributions,  viz.  : 
Messrs.  Colgate,  I.  T.  Johnson,  M.  R.  Mason,  I.  Thompson, 
Louis  Michael,  D.  S.  Barnes,  W.  Johnson,  G.  W.  Brown,  Rice 
and  Smith,  J.-  Lend  mark,  S.  W.  Jones,  E.  Phalon,  Knight  and 
Queru,  Payson  and  Thurston,  Justin  Shelhaas,  J.  Wilson,  and 
Ira  F.  Payson. 

From  Philadelphia,  eight,  viz. :  Messrs.  Bazin,  Hauel,  Du 
Costa,  Harley,  Taylor,  Zerman,  Worsley  &  Co.,  and  Christiani. 

From  Boston  only  two,  Messrs.  Cummings,  and  Beck  &  Co. 

From  New  Bedford,  Mass.,  one,  Mr.  Howland  ;  Charleston, 
South  Carolina,  one,  Mr.  Cleveland ;  Chicago,  Illinois,  one, 


SOAPS  AND  PERFUMERY. 


287 


William  Sill  &  Co. ;  Baltimore,  one,  Mr.  J.  A.  Jones ;  Natchez, 
Mississippi,  one,  Mr.  T.  B.  Nesbert. 

We  believe  that  no  other  branches  of  our  manufactures  can 
boast  of  so  large  a  number  of  representatives  at  our  Exhibition. 
There  are  certainly  none  among  whom  the  spirit  of  competition 
seems  to  be  more  actively  displayed. 


288 


THE  GREAT  EXHIBITION. 


XXIX. 

SKINS  AND  PELTRIES. 

Having  heretofore  spoken  of  the  tanned  hides  and  skins  in 
the  Exhibition,  we  have  now  only  to  speak  of  those  whose  value 
inheres  mainly  if  not  wholly  in  their  Fur.  The  only  countries 
beside  our  own  which  are  directly  represented  in  this  Depart- 
ment are  England  and  her  dependencies.  From  England,  the 
specimens  are  exclusively  of  the  manufactured  class.  They 
consist  mainly  of  sheep-skin  rugs,  shorn  by  Bevington  &  Mor- 
ris, and  I.  S.  Deed,  of  London,  and  Cyrus  &  James  Clark,  of 
Somerset.  These  are  of  every  possible  hue  and  pattern.  The 
Messrs.  Clarks  also  exhibit  specimens  of  goat-skin  rugs,  not 
found  elsewhere,  and  some  ladies'  fur  mufTs,  and  children's 
muffs.  They  are  extensive  manufacturers  of  shoes  from  the 
hair-dressed  skins  of  the  seal  and  other  animals,  with  inner 
linings  of  wool  and  cotton. 

The  most  noticeable  collection  of  Furs  is  in  the  Canadian 
Department.  They  are  chiefly  from  the  Hudson's  Bay  Com- 
pany, and  embrace  the  following  varieties  :  Black  bear,  beaver, 
otter,  fisher,  marten,  mink,  silver  fox,  red  fox,  cross  fox,  lynx, 
raccoon,  muskrat,  fur  seal,  and  black  squirrel.  Some  of  these 
are  very  fine,  as  well  as  peculiar — a  silver  fox-skin  for  instance; 
but  we  are  at  a  loss  to  conceive  how  it  should  be  worth  the 
price  at  which  it  is  valued—thirty  pounds  !  It  should  be  re- 
marked that  the  black  bear  skins  have  been  subjected  to  a  sort 
of  tanning  different  from  that  which  converts  ordinary  skins 
into  leather.  We  did  not  learn  the  process  to  which  this  par- 
ticular specimen  had  been  subjected,  but  it  may  be  stated,  as 
somewhat  curious,  that  hogs'  brains  are  sometimes  used  to  tan 
bear  skins,  and  that  they  have  a  high  reputation  among  back- 
woodsmen in  the  preparation  of  robes.  Quite  a  curious  use  of 
liie  cuttings  of  a  furrier's  shop  has  been  made  by  G.  Lomer,  of 


SKINS  AND  PELTRIES. 


289 


Montreal,  in  a  circular  sleigh-robe,  which  he  has  named  the 
Masterpiece.  It  is  composed  of  nine  thousand  three  hun- 
dred and  seventeen  patches  of  skins  of  almost  every  suffi- 
ciently strong  variety,  so  arranged  as  to  resemble  the  pelt  of  a 
leopard. 

In  these  varieties  of  Skins  and  Furs,  we  notice  very  slight 
differences  from  those  which  are  collected  by  the  Indians  and 
white  pioneers  in  the  far  West  and  other  sections  where  the 
larger  game  has  not  been  wholly  driven  off  by  the  inroads  of 
civilization.  In  the  older  States,  the  shrill  whistle  and  smokty- 
puff  of  the  locomotive,  as  they  reverberate  through  the  valleys 
and  mountain  gorges;  strike  such  terror  into  the  deer  and  the 
bear,  that  these  animals  have  suddenly  become  rare  where  they 
were,  until  within  a  few  years  past,  quite  numerous,  but  a  very 
few  miles  from  centres  of  civilized  activity  ;  and  in  this  way 
hundreds  of  men,  who  would  have  continued  to  depend  on  their 
dogs  and  their  deadly  rifles  for  subsistence,  have  been  compel- 
led to  make  a  virtue  of  necessity,  and  seek  it  in  the  tillage  of 
the  soil  over  which  they  have  hunted  in  former  yea^.  It  has 
been  a  severe  trial  to  some  of  the  lazier  of  these  to  give  up 
their  favorite  pursuits.  The  more  enterprising  have  availed 
themselves  of  the  employments  which  the  roads  have  opened  to 
them,  and  thus  illustrated  the  civilizing  influence  of  the  new 
order  of  things  which  modern  internal  improvements  have  intro- 
duced. In  the  mean  time  the  effect  upon  the  peltry  trade  has 
been  important,  rendering  it  necessary  to  look  to  foreign  coun- 
tries for  many  furs  and  skins  which  were  formerly  supplied  at 
home.  And  yet,  American  trappers  and  hunters  still  furnish 
even  British  subjects  with  a  considerable  supply  of  peltries. 
For  example :  we  find  among  the  exports  to  Canada  for  1852 
some  nine  thousand  dollars'  worth  of  furs  and  skins. 

In  the  class  of  manufactured  furs,  we  are  able  to  report  some 
creditable  specimens.  Among  these  are  ladies'  dress  furs  from 
the  following  contributors,  all  of  this  city  :  F.  W.  Lasak  & 
Sun,  Frank  Bennett  &  Co.,  J.  N.  Genin,  and  George  Bulpin. 
The  variety  is  not  great  in  any  of  these  deposits  except  that  of 
the  Messrs.  Lasaks.  In  their  case  we  find  many  sorts  of  man- 
tillas, talmas,  victorines,  capes,  muffs,  cuffs,  &c.   Some  of  these 

13 


290 


THE  GREAT  EXHIBITION. 


articles  are  magnificent — for  example,  one  of  the  mantillas, 
which  is  valued  at  one  thousand  five  hundred  dollars.  It  is 
made  from  small,  choice  sections  of  the  Russian  sable  marten, 
carefully  sewed  together.  There  is  a  fine  opportunity  in  this 
collection  to  compare  the  sables  gathered  by  the  Hudson  Bay 
Company  and  those  procured  in  Siberia  and  other  Russian 
provinces.  The  latter  are  much  superior  to  the  former,  though 
it  takes  good  judges  to  detect  the  difference  in  outward  appear- 
ance. The  immense  cost  of  some  of  these  ladies'  furs  will  cease 
lb  be  so  surprising,  when,  in  connection  with  the  fact  that  they 
are  made  from  the  choicest  parts  alone,  the  cost  of  the  skins  is 
taken  into  account.  This  is  often  as  much  as  fifty,  and  some- 
times seventy  dollars  for  a  single  skin,  although  it  is  not  larger 
than  that  of  the  domestic  cat.  Besides  the  marten  skins,  inclu- 
ding the  stone  marten,  there  are  in  the  same  collection  articles 
manufactured  from  the  lynx,  the  silver  fox,  (a  very  rare  pelt,  in 
much  request)  the  chinchilla  and  the  royal  ermine.  These  are 
truly  creditable  specimens  of  American  manufacture.  And 
here  we  remark,  that,  although  most  of  this  class  of  articles  are 
manufactured  in  the  United  States,  from  Russian  and  British 
North  American  materials,  England  has  some  advantage  as  to 
both  sources  of  supplies.  A  large  portion  of  the  Russian  skins 
are  imported  through  London,  while  the  monopoly  of  the 
Hudson  Bay  Company  is  so  managed  that  all  its  peltries  are 
taken  to  the  London  market.  There  they  are  disposed  of  in 
large  lots,  at  trade  sales,  by  the  authorized  agents  of  the 
Company. 

The  fabrics  from  the  soft  and  beautiful  Chinchilla  are  neces- 
sarily quite  costly,  not  only  on  account  of  the  expense  of  sewing 
together  skins  so  small  as  those  of  this  little  animal,  but  of  their 
original  cost.  Many  of  these  are  subjected  to  an  English  profit, 
before  reaching  our  markets,  though  they  are,  to  some  extent, 
imported  direct  from  the  ports  of  South  America,  of  which  conti- 
nent this  beautiful  little  animal  is  a  native. 

"We  cannot  dismiss  this  branch  of  our  subject,  without  calling 
attention  to  some  curious  facts  of  commercial  interchange. 
While  our  furriers  are  seeking  the  elegant  furs  of  Russia  in  the 
London  market,  or  importing  them  direct  from  St.  Petersburg, 


SKINS  AND  PELTRIES. 


291 


tlie  furriers  of  the  Autocrat's  dominions  are  busy  in  New- York, 
and  even  in  St.  Louis,  in  person,  or  through  their  agents,  pur- 
chasing the  furred  skins  of  America,  with  avidity,  including  those 
of  "  that  same  old  coon."  These  coarser  and  cheaper  furs  are 
used  as  linings  for  the  garments  of  such  as  cannot  afford  to  wear 
native  furs.  Immense  sums  of  money  were  formerly  made  by 
exportations  of  coon-skins  to  Russia  ;  hut  we  are  credibly  in- 
formed that  two  houses  in  this  City  sank  the  aggregate  of  forty 
or  fifty  thousand  dollars  last  year  alone,  principally  on  this  species 
of  pelt. 

We  come,  now,  to  the  contributions  from  Newfoundland, 
which  occupy  Court  15  in  the  northern  nave  of  the  Palace. 
These  are  curious  and  justly  attractive  to  visitors.  Among  them 
are  two  large  stuffed  skins  from  white  polar  bears,  and  a  number 
of  seal-skins  prepared  in  the  same  mode,  some  of  which  are  of  an 
unusually  large  size,  while  many  are  quite  small.  Indeed,  the 
collection  embraces  every  variety  of  this  animal.  There  are, 
besides,  stuffed  fox  and  rabbit  skins.  The  latter  indicate  much 
greater  size  in  the  animal  than  it  attains  in  our  climate.  They 
are  snow-white,  excepting  the  tips  of  their  ears,  which  are  black. 
The  foxes  are  of  the  unmixed  red  race,  the  same  as  the  native  fox 
of  our  warmer  middle  States.  To  these  must  be  added  a  num- 
ber of  seal-skins,  unstuffed,  as  found  in  the  shippers'  hands,  and 
skins  of  otters  and  other  amphibious  animals.  These  articles  are 
exhibited  by  D.  Hill  &  Co.,  of  St.  John's,  who  also  exhibit  some 
otter-skin  caps  ;  by  Bully  &  Mitchell,  of  the  same  place,  William 
Clements,  of  London,  and  the  Newfoundland  Agricultural  So- 
ciety, and  Newfoundland  Committee.  Newfoundland  has  fur- 
nished other  articles  of  interest,  which  do  not  strictly  fall  within 
the  scope  of  this  article,  but  we  may  properly  mention  a  model 
of  a  sealing-vessel,  reposing  in  the  ice-bound  waters,  while  its 
crew  are  represented  hunting  seals  amid  the  ice-fields,  firelock 
and  club  in  hand,  with  every  prospect  of  success. 

The  operations  of  the  seal-fisheries  of  Newfoundland,  and  of -the 
commerce  and  manufactures  which  are  legitimately  connected 
with  them,  are  of  immense  extent  and  importance.  A  heavy 
trade  in  this  line  is  carried  on  in  our  own  city,  where  the  skins 
are  received  as  packed  in  bundles  at  the  fisheries,  and  then 


292 


THE  GREAT  EXHIBITION. 


assorted  for  distribution  to  the  manufacturers  of  caps  and  other 
articles,  for  which  they  are  specially  adapted.  A  few  years  ago, 
the  quantity  of  seal-skin  caps  manufactured  and  sold  in  all  the 
Atlantic  cities  was  much  greater  than  now — that  species  of  head- 
gear having  gone  out  of  vogue  in  those  portions  of  the  country 
most  subjected  to  rapid  changes  of  fashion.  But  they  are  still 
largely  used  in  portions  of  the  South  and  West.  A  considerable 
quantity  of  these  skins  find  their  way  to  the  tanneries. 

The  commerce  connected  with  the  Newfoundland  seal-fisheries 
dates  back  as  far  as  1795,  though  it  did  not  assume  an  important 
aspect  until  1815.  The  first  year's  operation  did  not  amount  to 
more  than  4,900  skins,  but  in  1830  they  were  swelled  to  559,342, 
giving  employment  to  1,985  men.  The  most  reliable  statistics  at 
hand  indicate  considerable  vacillation  in  the  trade,  the  highest 
figures  being  those  of  1844,  which  gave  685,530  skins,  taken  by 
3,775  fishermen.  In  1850,  which  is  the  latest  date  of  the  ex- 
hibits before  us,  the  number  taken  was  400,000.  There  is  no 
estimate  of  the  force  employed  that  year,  but  it  was  probably 
quite  as  large  as  that  of  the  previous  year,  which  numbered 
9,388  men,  the  product  of  whose  labor  was  only  306,072  skins. 
The  number  of  vessels  employed,  and  their  tunnage,  also  vary 
greatly.  For  example,  the  vessels  stood  in  1830  at  92,  and  their 
tunnage  at  6,198.  Two  years  after,  there  were  153  vessels  in 
the  business,  measuring  11,462  tuns.  The  very  next  year,  the 
vessels  dropped  down  to  106,  and  their  aggregate  tunnage  to 
7,262.  The  statistics  show  pretty  steady  operations  till  1839 
and  1840,  when  the  number  of  vessels  suddenly  diminished  to 
about  75.  In  1849,  they  stood  at  278.  During  most  of  these 
variations  in  the  number  of  vessels  employed,  the  number  of  men 
changed  but  slightly,  and  the  results  in  seal-skins  did  not  vary 
much,  though  a  good  deal  of  unsteadiness  is  exhibited  by  the  re- 
ports, as  we  have  already  seen.  The  amount  of  tunnage  em- 
ployed in  sealing  does  not  run  up  as  in  other  sea-going  enterprises. 
The  reason  of  this  is,  that  heavy  vessels  are  too  unwieldy  for  the 
ice-bound  seas  of  the  north.  Nor  is  the  number  of  the  vessels 
employed  very  important,  judging  from  the  above  results.  Much 
more  depends  on  the  tact  and  industry  of  the  operators,  joined  with 


SKINS  AND  PELTRIES. 


293 


tlieir  knowledge  of  the  haunts  and  habits  of  their  prey,  than  on 
the  vessels  they  employ. 

A  description  of  the  processes  of  taking  the  seal  will  here  be 
interesting  and  appropriate.  We  have  already  stated  the 
origin  of  this  business  at  the  comparatively  recent  period  of 
17(J5.  But  not  even  then,  nor  for  nearly  twenty  years  later, 
was  it  prosecuted  to  any  considerable  extent.  The  general 
reign  of  peace  after  1814  dates  its  active  commencement.  The 
seals  are  migratory  animals,  and  are  found  on  the  coasts  of 
Newfoundland  only  in  the  spring.  The  females  seek  the  ice- 
fields of  the  great  Polar  Seas  to  bring  forth  their  young,  and 
are  accompanied  thither  by  their  mates.  Then,  being  swept  by 
the  currents  to  milder  regions,  myriads  of  them  are  killed  while 
still  upon  the  ice.  During  their  sojourn  in  the  more  northern 
latitudes,  they  apparently  live  a  foodless  life — but,  nevertheless, 
they  become  quite  fat.  The  vessels  employed  in'  the  seal  fish- 
eries are  generally  of  from  fifty  to  two  hundred  tons'  burden, 
and  carry  from  forty  to  fifty  men  each.  They  leave  the  coast 
of  Newfoundland  early  in  the  spring,  and  proceed  seaward 
until  they  encounter  the  ice.  On  falling  in  with  it,  they  get 
into  the  midst  of  it  as  far  as  possible,  by  the  aid  of  implements 
arranged  for  the  express  purpose.  The  vessel  soon  becomes 
securely  fixed  in  limitless  fields  of  ice,  without  the  aid  of 
anchorage,  and  the  men  dispose  of  themselves  in  all  directions 
in  search  of  their  game.  The  seals  are  taken  with  spears, 
clubs  and  guns.  The  younger  ones  generally  die  quickly,  and 
are,  therefore,  easily  managed.  The  larger  ones  often  give 
battle  to  their  assailants,  especially  when  the  parental  instinct 
arouses  their  resentment.  Amid  these  death-struggles  the 
most  piteous  moans  are  sent  out  by  the  young. 

The  flesh  being  unfit  for  human  food,  they  are  sought  for 
their  hides  and  flit  alone.  In  stripping  off  the  hides,  the  fat 
usually  comes  off  with  them.  The  denuded  bodies  are  left  upon 
the  ice,  wThen  the  weather  will  permit  the  stripping  to  be  done 
there.  At  other  times,  they  are  carried  bodily  to  the  vessel, 
and  skinned  there  under  shelter. 

The  seal-fishing  season  is  very  brief,  lasting  only  from  the 
first  of  March  till  about  the  last  of  April.  Hence,  the  scene  of 


294 


THE  GREAT  EXHIBITION. 


operations  is  a  busy  one.  The  most  fortunate  vessels  make 
two  voyages  each  fishing  season.  After  the  arrival  of  the 
vessels  in  port,  the  process  of  separating  the  fat  from  the  skins 
and  preparing  oil  from  it,  gives  employment  to  a  great  number 
of  persons.  The  fat  is  cut  into  pieces,  and  placed  in  vats, 
where  the  warmth  of  the  sun  does  the  work  of  separating  the 
oil  from  the  fibre  of  the  blubber.  The  oleaginous  property 
having  once  oozed  out,  the  skins  are  salted  in  layers,  in  a  simi- 
lar mode  to  that  employed  in  packing  green  cattle  hides.  When 
deemed  sufficiently  cured,  they  are  packed  in  the  bundles  in 
which  they  arrive  at  the  ports  of  foreign  countries. 

Within  the  entire  circle  of  human  enterprises,  there  are  none 
more  perilous  than  the  operations  of  the  seal  fisheries.  The 
hunters  are  sometimes  caught  in  storms  of  hail  and  sleet, 
which  come  on  at  night  and  expose  them  to  trials  which  make 
the  stoutest  heart  quake  and  quail.  While  the  vessels  are 
absent  from  St.  John's,  the  intensest  anxiety  prevails  among 
the  families  and  friends  of  the  adventurous  crews.  Nor  is  this 
fearful  anxiety  of  friends,  which  feeds  upon  the  slightest  rumor 
of  disaster,  merely  imaginary.  The  north-east  gales  frequently 
drive  the  vessels  to  the  shore,  and  dash  them  to  pieces,  making 
terrific  havoc  of  property  and  life  !  In  1843,  the  wrecks  of 
sealing  vessels  were  very  numerous.  In  1849,  a  number  more 
were  lost,  together  with  valuable  cargoes  and  portions  of  their 
hardy  crews.  Last  year's  history  was  particularly  marked  by 
such  calamities.  The  memorable  gale  of  April  20th,  1852,  was 
wofully  disastrous.  A  single  arrival  from  St.  John's,  at 
Halifax,  put  upon  the  telegraphic  wires  the  tale  of  the  wreck  of 
at  least  fifty  vessels,  hundreds  of  whose  men  found  a  watery 
grave,  while  others  were  left  stranded  upon  one  of  the  islands 
in  Bonavista  Bay,  and  exposed  to  intense  cold  and  hunger,  from 
which  some  of  them  died.  And  yet  these  mishaps  and  losses 
seemed  to  put  no  check  whatever  upon  the  business.  It  has 
gone  on  as  though  nothing  had  happened — thus  affording  a 
striking  illustration  of  the  daring  energy  and  devotion  employed 
in  the  service  of  modern  commerce. 


MACHINERY  AND  INVENTIONS.  296 


XXX. 

MACHINERY  AND  INVENTIONS. 

A  perfect  account  of  all  important  inventions  would  be  a 
virtual  history  of  the  origin  and  progress  of  civilization.  The 
making  of  Iron  marks  the  point  of  emergence  from  barba- 
rism. The  use  of  Steam,  as  an  element  o£power,  draws  a  broad 
line  of  demarcation  between  the  last  century  and  all  which 
preceded  it.  The  Mariner's  Compass — Gunpowder — Mule- 
Spinners  and  Power- Looms — the  Steam-Engine — Canals — the 
Cotton-Gin — the  Steamboat — the  Railroad — the  Electric  Tele- 
graph— the  Daguerreotype — the  Ocean  Steamer;  such  are 
among  the  rounds  of  the  ladder  up  which  man  has  climbed 
from  the  savagism  of  Australia  to  the  intellectual  and  social 
condition  of  New-England  or  Paris.  * 

A  complete  history  of  Inventions  would  solve  many  curious 
problems — among  them,  that  of  the  comparative  pecuniary 
rewards  of  inventors  who  have  done  the  world  good  service, 
and  those  who  have  served  only  themselves.  Probably,  a 
careful  inquiry  would  show  that  more  solid  cash  has  in  the 
aggregate  been  pocketed  for  worthless  than  for  worthy  inven- 
tions ;  and  that  very  few,  who  have  really  and  signally  extended 
Man's  dominion  over  Nature,  were  personally  benefited  by 
their  triumph.  Some  of  the  best  inventions  were  never  even 
patented — that  of  the  Screw-Auger,  the  brain-work  of  a  Con- 
necticut Yankee,  for  one.  Others  have  effected  the  pecuniary 
ruin  of  the  inventor,  and  sent  him,  broken-hearted,  to  an  early 
grave — yet  have  afterward  proved  immensely  valuable.  We 
scarcely  know  of  any  American  inventor  who  derives  a  liberal 
income  from  his  inventions,  though  many  are  sources  of  gen- 
erous incomes  to  assignees  or  other  owners.  Morse  is  under- 
stood to  have  realized  a  handsome  fortune  from  his  Telegraph ; 
but  several  of  his  associates,  in  working  the  patent,  are  believed 


296 


THE  GREAT  EXHIBITION. 


to  have  clone  quite  as  well  by  it  as  he*  has.  Arkwright  left  his 
children  a  vast  property,  the  product  of  his  cotton-spinning 
machinery  ;  but  neither  Fulton,  Whitney,  nor  any  other  emi- 
nent American  inventor  now  deceased,  is  known  to  us  as  having 
amassed  and  retained  wealth ;  while  the  great  majority  of  the 
class  have  dodged  duns  and  sheriffs  from  the  luckless  day 
wherein  they  first  became  absorbed  by  the  idea  of  inventing, 
down  to  that  in  which  they  were  shielded  from  farther  perse- 
cution in  the  harsh  but  secure  embrace  of  the  coffin. 

A  volume  would,  scarcely  suffice  for  a  full  description  of 
all  the  inventions  and  labor-saving  machinery  in  the  Crystal 
Palace  ;  while  to  reconcile  their  conflicting  claims  to  originality 
and  efficiency,  would  over-tax  the  powers  of  any  writer.  We 
can  only  speak  of  the  most  notable,  as  a  necessarily  hurried 
examination  of  each  has  enabled  us  to  do,  giving  our  impres- 
sions, without  claiming  for  them  any  other  merits  than  sincerity 
and  impartiality.  Once  for  all,  be  it  understood,  that  we  do 
not  aspire  to  guide  the  judgment  of  buyers  or  operators  ;  they 
will  of  course  examine  for  themselves,  expecting  of  us  only 
indications  that  this  or  £hat  article  seems  worthy  (or  otherwise) 
of  their  consideration. 

Flax-Dressing, — We  have  patiently  awaited  the  appearance 
of  Clemmons'  and  some  other  of  the  new  machines  designed  ^ 
to  cheapen  and  accelerate  the  separation  of  the  fibre  from  the 
woody  matter  of  the  flax-stalk — but  none  of  them  are  visi- 
ble;  so  we  proceed  to  speak  definitively  of  the  inventions  of 
Mr.  L.  S.  Chichester,  being  the  only  Flax-Dressers  in  the  Exhi- 
bition. They  are  the  productions  of  a  New-Yorker,  educated 
(we  believe)  as  a  civil-engineer,  and  hitherto  devoted  to  that 
calling.  They  consist,  first,  of  a  Flax-Puller,  commended  as 
quite  ingenious  and  efficient,  but  it  does  not  appear  in  the  Exhi- 
bition ;  the  second  in  order — the  first  which  docs  appear — is  a 
Brake,  a  little  lower  and  larger  than  a  common  Fanning-Mill, 
but  not  very  unlike  it  in  appearance,  consisting  of  two  hori- 
zontal cylinders,  two  feet  each  in  diameter,  presenting  surfaces 
of  alternating  elastic  and  firm-set  iron  ribs  or  breaking-plates — 
the  elastic  resting  on  spiral  springs,  and  being  opposed  to  the 
firm-set  ribs  or  plates  in  the  opposite  cylinder;  so  that  the  flax, 


MACHINERY  AND  INVENTIONS. 


297 


being  fed  endwise  upon  a  shallow  hopper  or  platform  at  one 
side  of  the  machine,  is  drawn  between  the  two  cylinders  by 
their  revolving  motion,  and  thoroughly  beaten  or  broken  by 
the  pressure  of  each  elastic  on  the  opposite  fixed  rib,  being 
subjected  to  a  gentle  pulling  or  drawing  motion,  and  then  to 
a  reverse  or  doubling  motion,  which  together  loosen  the  wood 
from  the  fibre  or  line,  causing  a  good  portion  of  it  to  fall 
through  this  machine  upon  the  floor  beneath.    Thence  the  fibre 
passes  out  on  the  other  side  of  the  machine,  thoroughly  broken, 
and  is  gathered  thence  by  the  handful,  and  presented  to  the 
Dresser — a  machine  very  similar  to  the  Brake  in  outward 
semblance,  but  consisting  within  of  two  conical  cylinders,  each 
formed  of  four  large  conical,  spiral  blades  of  wood,  framed  on 
parallel  shafts,  revolving  toward  each  other ;  the  blades  of  one 
cone  being  opposite  the  spaces  between  the  blades  of  another. 
These  blades  draw  in  the  fibrous  mass,  striking  it  first  on  one 
side,  then  on  the  other,  beating  out  the  wood  and  impurities, 
which  pass  off  through  an  opening  behind,  like  chaff  from  a 
fanning-mill.    The  work  is  done  very  thoroughly,  and  nearly 
all  the  fibre  is  delivered  unbroken,  and  perfectly  free  from 
wood  or  skives.    We  saw  flax  dressed  by  these  machines, 
which,  having  been  rotted  chemically,  so  as  to  leave  the  fibre 
white  as  well  as  long  and  fine,  would  readily  command  twenty- 
five  cents  per  pound,  or  five  hundred  dollars  per  ton. 

The  two  machines — Brake  and  Dresser  — cost  $600,  and 
require  four  men  and  two-horse  power  to  run  them  steadily. 
So  run,  they  will  dress  one  ton  per  day  of  the  rotted  or  steeped 
stalk  or  straw,  yielding  three  hundred  and  seventy-five  to  five 
hundred  pounds  (according  to  the  quality  of  the  material)  of 
soft  and  very  serviceable  line  or  fibre.  This,  supposing  the 
tun  of  rotted  or  steeped  straw  to  be  worth  twelve  dollars,  the 
labor  four  dollars,  the  power  one  dollar,  the  use  and  wear  of 
machinery,  &c,  three  dollars  more,  and  add  five  dollars  per 
day  for  contingencies,  would  give  twenty-five  dollars  as  the  net 
cost  of  say  four  hundred  pounds  of  line  or  dressed  flax,  worth 
certainly  not  less  than  fifty  dollars,  giving  a  profit  of  twenty- 
five  dollars  per  day  to  the  runner  or  owner. 

These  machines  cost  too  much  to  be  bought  by  the  ordinary 

14* 


298 


THE  GREAT  EXHIBITION. 


farmer ;  only  one  who  farms  on  the  largest  scale  could  afford 
to  buy  them,  except  with  a  view  to  the  dressing  of  more  flax 
than  his  own.  But  one  in  each  township,  where  every  farmer 
raises  his  acre  or  more  of  flax,  ought  to  do  very  well,  and  give 
a  vigorous  impulse  to  the  production  of  flax.  It  seems  to  us 
that  these  machines  might  be  profitably  increased  in  capacity 
by  doubling  the  length  of  the  cylinders  and  putting  on  more 
power.  The  speed  required  to  break  a  tun  of  straw  per  day  as 
above  is  but  three  revolutions  per  minute,  which  might  also  be 
increased. 

We  have  the  opinion  of  many  practical  flax-men  that  this 
machinery  will  do. 

Washing.  —  We  had  nearly  lost  our  faith  in  Washing- 
Machines,  except  on  the  largest  scale ;  but  there  is  a  rough- 
looking  customer  lately,  brought  into  the  Exhibition,  which 
revives  it.  It  consists  mainly  of  a  cylindrical  base  or  boiler, 
holding  some  ten  to  twenty  gallons,  into  which  the  clothes  are 
put  without  soaping ;  the  soap  is  put  in  with  them,  and  hot 
water  and  steam  are  introduced  from  a  box  or  boiler  below,  so 
that  whatever  space  in  the  cylinder  is  not  filled  with  clothes  is 
about  half  full  of  boiling  suds  and  half  of  steam.  Then  the 
cylinder  is  made  slowly  to  revolve,  so  that  the  clothes  are 
alternately  immersed  in  steam  and  in  boiling  suds,  until  the 
alkali  of  the  soap  has  dissolved  or  neutralized  all  the  grease, 
and  the  clothes  are  a  without  spot  or  blemish."  The  time 
required  for  this  is  from  five  to  ten  minutes,  according  to  the 
tenacity  of  the  grease,  though  we  were  informed  by  some  of 
the  workmen  in  the  Palace  that  their  oily  overalls  had  been 
thoroughly  purified  by  it  in  five  minutes.  The  machine  costs 
fifty  dollars  without,  or  seventy-five  dollars  with  a  boiler  above 
for  rinsing,  and  requires  very  little  room.  We  think  it  might 
make  the  fortune  of  the  patentee  or  owner,  provided  he  knows 
enough  to  advertise  it  sufficiently. 

Printing  Uneven  Surfaces. — "  Burnap's  Veneering  Press, 
especially  adapted  to  Veneering  Uneven  Surfiices  and  laying 
large  Veneers  at  a  single  operation,"  strikes  us  as  ingenious  and 
valuable  in  its  way;  but  our  main  interest  in  it  centres  in  the 
light  it  sheds  on  the  problem  of  printing  irregular  forms  or 


MACHINERY  AND  INVENTIONS. 


299 


uneven  surfaces.  We  heard,  some  months  since,  of  an  inven- 
tion in  Austria  whereby  such  surfaces  were  successfully  printed, 
but  have  seen  nothing  that  exhibited  the  rationale  of  the  opera- 
tion before  this,  which  works  by  hydraulic  pressure  and  adapts 
a  flexible,  elastic  surface  or  tympan  to  the  rigid,  irregular  sur- 
face opposed  to  it,  and  of  which  an  impression  is  required.  The 
principle  seems  susceptible  of  wide  application. 

Bonnet  Pressing. — A  new  machine  for  Bonnet  Pressing,  by 
Mrs.  C.  C.  Dowe,  of  this  city,  receives  very  general  commend- 
ation, and  seems  to  be  very  well  adapted  to  its  purpose,  though 
we  have  not  happened  to  see  it  in  operation. 

Pumps.  —  All  kinds  seem  to  be  represented  ^xcept  the 
diaphragm  pump  and  the  common  chain  pump.  Good  judges 
regard  the  ordinary  chain  pump  as  in  most  cases  the  bes  t  article 
for  wells  that  has  yet  been  devised.  It  brings  water  from  any 
depth,  however  great;  ventilates  its  own  shaft,  aerates  the 
water  continually,  so  that  it  is  rare  that  choke-damp  collects  in 
such  a  wrell.  When  set  up  with  an  iron  case  on  a  substantial 
stone  or  timber  base,  this  pump  is  reliable  at  all  seasons,  and 
very  durable.  There  is  no  patent  upon  the  principles  involved, 
and  no  particular  maker.  The  chains  and  iron  cases  are  on 
exhibition  among  hardware,  imported  and  domestic,  in  several 
courts  of  the  Exhibition,  but  the  pump  itself  is  not  in  motion  in 
the  arcade.  They  are  on  sale  at  almost  any  hardware  store  in 
the  north  and  east,  and  cannot  too  soon  come  into  general  use. 
We  have  seen  them  in  use  in  tanneries  and  paper  mills,  where 
their  durability  is  severely  tested  by  night  and  day  wrork,  in 
connection  w  ith  engine  power.  Their  simplicity  commends 
them  to  the  frontier  settler,  who  is  far  away  from  machine 
shops  and  pump-makers.  A  farmer  and  a  blacksmith  can  keep 
one  in  repair  a  century. 

Rotary  Pumps — Gwynne's*  Centrifugal  Pump  ;  Cary's  Rotary 
Pump,  seem  to  be  very  effective  indeed.  The  visitor  must  re- 
member, however,  in  looking  at  them  in  operation,  that  steam  is 
driving  them.    The  proof  of  a  pump  is  not  in  the  size  of  the 

*  Another  pump  is  noticed  by  another  hand  in  the  next  article.  Mr. 
Gwynne's  claim  to  have  invented  any  important  portion  of  this  pump  ap- 
pears to  be  disputed — we  cannot  say  how  justly. 


800 


THE  GREAT  EXHIBITION. 


stream  alone,  but  also  in  the  strength  of  arm  or  engine  which 
drives  it.  Of  this  latter,  the  eye  cannot  judge.  Gwynne's  pump 
depends  for  its  action  upon  the  centrifugal  tendency  of  rotating 
bodies,  and  at  high  speeds  is  a  fluent,  forcible  pump.  If  it  is 
true  that  centrifugal  force  is  "no  tax  upon  rotation"  but  is  "  a 
gratuity  of  nature,"  then  beyond  all  question  Gwynne's  centri- 
fugal pump  is  the  best  ever  invented.  We  await  the  determina- 
tions of  the  dynamometer  to  settle  this  question.  We  are  not  dis- 
posed either  to  purchase  or  recommend  Gwynne's  pump,  except 
as  the  most  elegant  form  of  the  familiar  centrifugal  pump  yet  de- 
vised. There  is  no  packing  to  wear  out ;  but  the  high  speed  re- 
quired seems  to  us  to  forbid  its  use  as  a  domestic  machine. 

Cary's  Rotary  is  very  elegant  indeed.  The  packing  is  simple, 
easily  renewed  by  any  man  who  owns  a  jack-knife.  It  adjusts 
itself  according  to  its  labor,  the  water  being  admitted  behind 
each  packed  surface,  so  that  it  tempers  its  tightness  to  the  pres- 
sure. In  our  judgment,  no  rotary  pump  will  ever  surpass  this. 
The  smallest  size  (No.  0)  will  be  a  very  elegant  article  in  a 
kitchen  or  wash-room,  and  as  a  force-pump  will  distribute  water 
through  the  house.  The  next  size  (No.  1)  will  supply  a  factory 
or  steam-engine  of  one  to  fifteen  horse  power  very  efficiently. 
The  visitor  must  remember,  in  trying  the  hand-pump  on  exhibi- 
tion, that  he  is  raising  the  water  only  four  or  five  feet,  and  not 
try,  supposing  that  water  will  come  up  twenty  or  thirty  feet  out 
of  a  well  just  as  easily.  For  steamships  and  local  fire-engines, 
this  pump  will  be  found  very  satisfactory  indeed.  There  are  four 
sizes,  Nos.  0,  1,  2,  3. 

Of  the  Cylinder  and  Plunger  Pumps,  we  are  especially  pleased 
with  the  simplicity  and  apparent  durability  of  a  horizontal-action 
force-pump,  the  invention  of  Mr.  Dodge  (L.  P.  or  F.  W.)  of  New- 
burgh,  N.  Y.  "  Dodge's  Patent  Premium  Suction  and  Force. 
Pump"  is  the  infelicitous  name  of  a  very  happy  invention.  Its 
excellence  is  in  its  simplicity,  its  metallic  bearings,  its  arrange- 
ment of  valves — very  simple  and  durable — and  its  very  light 
friction.  It  lacks  elegance  in  its  appearance,  but  combines,  in  a 
marked  degree,  the  elements  of  simplicity  and  economy  both  of 
purchase  money  and  of  labor.  The  patent  bears  date  June  7, 
1853. 


MACHINERY  AND  INVENTIONS. 


301 


Farmers  will  do  well  to  give  attention  to  the  Hydraulic  Hams 
on  exhibition.  They  are  not  as  well  known  as  they  deserve  to 
be,  although  a  very  old  invention — of  the  French,  we  think.  In 
all  cases  where  a  man  has  on  his  farm  a  lively  brook,  within 
four  or  five  hundred  yards  of  his  house,  he  will  do  well  to  buy  a 
"  ram,"  rather  than  dig  a  well  or  build  a  cistern.  Suburban 
gentlemen  who  miss  Croton  conveniences,  may  easily  supply  a 
small  tank  in  their  garrets,  safely  and  surely,  and  thus  "  pipe  off" 
their  country-houses  for  purer  water  even  than  Croton.  For  the 
stock-yard,  the  steady  flow  is  very  valuable. 

There  are  two  on  exhibition  ;  neither  one  exhibits  any  very 
marked  excellence.  They  both  work  well.  The  Yankee  article, 
very  neatly  finished,  may  be  obtained  at  any  hardware  store  of 
repute.    The  ram  is  not  as  well  known  as  it  deserves. 

There  are  twenty  other  kinds  of  pumps,  all  of  which  will  suck 
or  lift  or  force  water.  There  is  a  choice  among  them.  We  have 
indicated  ours,  and  given  our  reasons.  Let  the  reader  go  and  see 
for  himself,  and  differ  from  us  if  he  chooses,  for  reasons  he  may 
esteem  better. 

A  Shoe-Pegging  Machine  is  exhibited  by  A.  T.  Gallahue,  of 
Pittsburgh,  Pa.: — patented  on  the  18th  of  September.  The  in- 
ventor states  that  no  other  machine  for  pegging  boots  and  shoes 
is  in  operation,  and  we  do  not  remember  having  seen  any,  though 
long  ago  satisfied,  by  observing  the  operation  of  other  machinery, 
that  pegging  by  machines  is  practicable.  This  one  is  made 
almost  entirely  of  iron,  costs  $150  to  $200,  and  will  probably 
weigh  some  two  or  three  hundred  pounds.  It  works  very  quietly 
and  rapidly,  and  will  peg  a  shoe  or  boot,  two  rows  on  each  side, 
(leaving  a  small  space  at  the  heel  and  toe)  in  three  minutes, 
cutting  its  own  pegs.  One  man  only  is  required  to  operate  it, 
without  auxiliary  power.  A  good  workman  will  peg  a  shoe  by 
hand  in  fifteen  minutes,  but  close  application  to  pegging  is  consid- 
ered unhealthy.  We  asked  an  Eastern  shoe-manufacturer  who 
examined  this  machine  when  we  did,  whether  it  did  its  work 
better  or  worse  than  it  is  done  by  hand,  and  he  said  it  drove  the 
pegs  more  evenly  and  on  the  whole  better.  We  understand  that 
it  is  now  in  practical  operation  in  Pittsburgh,  but  we  believe  no 


302 


THE  GREAT  EXHIBITION. 


other  than  the  one  in  the  Exhibition  has  yet  appeared  this  side 
of  the  Allegh anies. 

Stave-Dressing,  Planing,  dbc. — Four  machines  for  Stave- 
dressing  are  on  exhibition.  Gwynne  &  Sheffield's  is  a  well- 
finished  machine,  capable  of  dressing  for  the  truss-hoop  ninety 
staves  a  minute.  The  machine  drives  three  knives,  one  to 
each  edge  and  one  to  cut  the  face  of  the  stave.  The  wood, 
after  being  thoroughly  steamed,  is  offered  in  a  block,  the 
upper  edge-knife  strikes  it,  trims  a  half-inch,  then  descends  the 
main  blow  separating  the  stave,  then  the  lower  knife  trims  the 
lower  edge.  For  flour  and  fruit  barrels,  these  (maple)  staves 
will  make  good  work,  after  seasoning.  They  are  "  shaky," 
however,  in  consequence  of  being  peeled  off  like  a  shaving  from 
the  block.  Had  the  block  been  dry  they  would  have  split ;  the 
steaming  alone  saves  them. 

The  Barrel-making  machinery  of  C.  B.  Hutchinson  &  Co., 
Syracuse,  begins  with  a  cutter,  which  cuts  (from  bolts  or 
blocks)  the  staves  to  the  proper  curvature,  so  hollowed  and 
rounded  that  no  further  dressing  is  needed — of  course,  with  a 
great  saving  of  material  as  compared  with  the  old,  manual  pro- 
cess. Different  machines  cut  from  one  thousand  to  two  thou- 
sand staves  per  hour,  according  to  size  and  thickness.  To  these 
succeed  a  Jointer,  a  Crozier,  a  Heading-cutter,  and  a  Head- 
turner — each  doing  its  work  rapidly  and  accurately — the  last 
turning  out  eight  hundred  barrel-heads  per  day,  and  requiring 
but  one  horse-power  to  propel  it. 

The  third  set  of  machinery  is  that  of  Wra.  Trapp  &  Co., 
Elmira,  N.  Y.,  consisting  of  similar  contrivances  to  those  just 
mentioned,  and  said  to  produce  three  hundred  barrels  per  day, 
from  a  single  set  of  machinery.  The  barrel  or  keg  made  by 
this  process  seems  decidedly  superior  in  tightness  and  finish  to 
one  made  with  like  care  by  hand ;  while  the  operator  does 
nothing  but  hand  on  the  blocks  and  pass  the  staves,  &c,  from 
one  machine  to  another,  until  the  barrel  is  ready  for  setting  up 
and  hooping.  We  cannot  doubt  that,  where  casks  are  wanted 
that  will  hold  fast  the  most  insinuating  liquids,  it  will  be  found 
expedient  to  have  them  made  entirely  by  one  or  other  of 
these  sets  of  machinery. 


MACHINERY  AND  INVENTIONS. 


303 


Near  the  beam-engine,  at  the  extreme  north  of  the  Arcade, 
is  a  third  Stave-dresser,  for  tight  work,  which  appears  well.  It 
is  -imply  a  planing  machine  so  arranged  as  to  plane  out  a  bar- 
rel-stave complete,  just  as  floor-boards  have  been  dressed  for 
the  last  ten  or  twelve  years.  Hawkins  is  the  inventor's  name. 
This  planing-machine,  on  the  principle  of  revolving  cutters,  is  a 
dangerous  one  to  use.  India  rubber  and  planing-machines 
breed  law-suits  as  fast  as  they  do  money. 

Woodworth's  planing  machine  is  here  in  all  its  glory,  and 
also  a  molding-mill  to  dress  out  a  very  common  pattern.  This 
is  the  best  known  of  all  the  machines  of  the  kind  in  the  country. 
Its  interests  are  familiar,  ad  nauseam,  to  all  the  United  States 
Courts ;  its  claims  have  been  heard  in  Congress.  It  does  ex- 
cellent work  and  pays  well. 

Beardslee's  Patent  Planing  Machine  is  a  device  which  has 
nothing  at  all  in  common  with  Woodworth's.  It  consists  of 
eight  broad  knives  or  plane  bitts,  set  up  vertically  in  solid  cast- 
iron  stocks,  and  so  adjusted  that  the  board  is  driven  along  their 
face,  and  each  takes  a  shaving  as  broad  as  the  board ;  each  knife 
is  set  to  a  finer  cut  than  the  preceding  one,  till  the  last  shaving 
is  as  thin  and  soft  as  silk.  The  machine  has  an  attachment  by 
which  both  sides  of  a  board  are  planed  at  once.  The  inventor 
applies  the  same  plan  to  tongueing  and  grooving.  This  is  the 
most  efficient  machine  as  yet  invented.  It  planes  boards  as 
fast  as  one  man  can  handle  them,  say  one  hundred  and  thirty 
to  one  hundred  and  forty  linear  feet  of  length  per  minute.  Its 
faults  are  most  manifest  upon  knotty  stuff.  The  knives  require 
a  careful  and  a  skilful  workman  to  set  them.  The  working 
model  of  this  machine  on  exhibition  is  a  pattern  for  all  invent- 
ors who  wish  their  inventions  judged  of  by  a  model.  This 
model,  and  one  of  a  power-loom,  are  the  only  two  properly 
finished  models  in  the  Exhibition. 

Barlow's  Patent  Planing  Machine  differs  from  Beardslee's,  in 
giving  a  reciprocating  or  drawing  motion  to  some  of  the  verti- 
cal knives  or  bitts.    Minor  differences  we  will  not  note. 

These  labor-saving  machines  have  worked  a  revolution  in  the 
carpenter's  trade.  It  is  very  rare  now  that  a  carpenter  sets 
out  to  dress  out  boards  by  the  hundred  feet.    The  planes  are 


304 


THE  GREAT  EXHIBITION. 


well-nigh  disused.  What  with  planing,  molding,  mortising  and 
tenoning  machines,  little  is  left  to  the  carpenter  but  to  put 
together  the  work.  A  regular  old-fashioned  carpenter  is  get- 
ting to  be  a  curiosity.  A  man  who  can  slap  together  a  dozen 
or  two  four-panel  doors  a  day  is  a  very  different  man  from 
the  old  steady  workman,  who  prided  himself  on  splitting  the 
gauge-line  with  his  joint-plane  the  whole  length  of  a  sixteen- 
foot  board. 

Charles  W.  Bemis  exhibits  a  very  beautiful  arrangement  of 
the  String  and  Circular  Saw.  The  String  Saw  is  carried  by 
a  working-beam,  which  ends  in  an  arc  of  a  circle,  over  which 
an  elastic  steel  strap  is  conformed  at  every  stroke.  The  saw 
is  stretched  between  two  such  beams,  and  thus  dispenses  with 
the  "gate"  and  "guides,"  and  moves  very  lightly  upon  cen- 
tres, instead  of  slides.  The  shortness  and  perplexity  of  the 
curves  cut  by  this  simple  tool,  are  a  steady  wonder  to  visitors. 
The  Circular  Saw  is  peculiar  only  in  its  gearing.  A  boy  of 
twelve  can  turn  the  crank  so  as  to  rip  a  three-quarter  inch 
pine-board  with  great  ease.  These  are  cheap  machines.  Every 
carpenter  should  look  at  them ;  they  will  save  him  time  and 
labor. 

Sherwood's  Prismatic  Lathe,  is  an  engine  for  dressing  out 
ballusters,  bed-posts,  newels,  &c,  into  prismatic  shapes.  The 
superior  richness  of  a  prismatic  post  over  a  circular  one  of  the 
same  pattern,  is  really  surprising.  The  machine  is  very  simple. 
The  post  is  held  fast  on  centres,  while  a  series  of  cutters  ranged 
along  a  shaft,  revolve  with  great  rapidity,  and  dress  off  one 
side.  The  post  is  then  turned  one-sixth  or  one-eighth  of  a  revo- 
lution, and  a  second  side  is  cut.  Each  pattern  must  have  a 
set  of  knives  or  cutters,  and  these  are  so  costly,  that,  except 
in  cities,  the  machine  will  not  pay,  through  lack  of  work  to 
keep  it  running. 

Thomas  S.  Minniss  exhibits  a  model  of  anti-friction  bearings 
for  heavy  shafts.  His  device  is  to  float  the  revolving  body 
upon  water,  oil,  or  mercury,  according  to  the  necessities  of 
the  case.  Of  course  his  shafts  will  move  smooth  as  oil  and 
free  as  water.    Very  possibly  it  is  a  good  device,  though  we 


MACHINERY  AND  INVENTIONS. 


305 


apprehend  that  its  novelty  will  deter  men  from  its  use.  It  is 
a  good  invention — look  at  it. 

With  regard  to  Steam  Engines,  we  may  say  that  no  visitor 
is  competent  to  criticise  a  novel  steam-engine  simply  by  look- 
ing at  it.  The  rotaries  are  numerous  and  ingenious.  We 
hope  there  is  a  good  and  economical  one  among  them  all,  but 
we  doubt  it.  Nevertheless,  a  direct-action  rotary  steam-engine 
is  a  desideratum — and,  for  that  matter,  so  is  perpetual  motion. 
The  three  engines  at  work  may  be  spoken  of  very  briefly  as 
follows:  The  Southern  Belle,  running  without  any  labor,  is  true 
to  the  name  belle — very  showy,  and  (at  present)  very  useless. 
No  shop  would  ever  dream  of  making  or  buying  such  an  engine 
for  use.  It  would  keep  one  man  busy  the  whole  time  to  keep 
it  bright  and  clean. 

The  Lawrence  Engine — two  cylinder — is  neat,  unostenta- 
tious, and  workmanlike.  There  is  nothing  novel,  however, 
in  its  structure. 

The  Beam  Engine,  from  Providence,  by  Corliss  &  Nightin- 
gale, exhibits  a  new  application  of  the  governor.  Instead  of 
applying  it  to  the  usual  regulator-valve,  in  this  engine  the 
governor  is  very  ingeniously  made  to  adjust  the  "  cut-off,"  so 
as  to  regulate  each  cylinder-full  of  steam,  stroke  by  stroke. 
The  workmanship  and  the  ingenuity  displayed  in  this  machine, 
are  above  all  praise.  As  to  its  practical  utility,  only  experience 
can  decide. 

Dick's  Iron  Shears,  made  at  Hadley's  Falls,  (Holyoke)  Mass., 
is  a  massive  engine,  decidedly  in  advance  of  all  the  boiler- 
makers'  shears  we  have  seen,  in  the  length  of  cut,  the  ease  of 
handling  the  iron  sheet,  and  the  accuracy  with  which  the  scribed 
line  can  be  foJlowed.  Plate-iron  a  half-inch  thick  can  be  trimmed 
as  closely  as  a  lady  cuts  a  cap  or  collar-pattern.  There  is  a  rival 
machine  from  Erie,  Pa.,  which  may  be  equally  good  in  prin- 
ciple, but  does  not  appear  to  possess  equal  power. 

Mechanics  will  do  well  to  examine  a  Screwing  Machine,  as 
the  maker  has  chosen  to  call  it — an  engine  for  threading  iron 
bolts  and  nuts  of  all  sizes,  from  a  half  to  two  inches  in  diame- 
ter. It  is  difficult  to  cut  a  thread  upon  a  bolt  without  crushing 
or  damaging,  to  some  extent,  its  true  cylindric  shape.  The 


306 


THE  GREAT  EXHIBITION. 


"spurs"  and  "dies,"  with  the  device  for  applying  them,  are 
worthy  of  study.  The  same  exhibitor  offers  a  Shaping  Ma- 
chine, for  turning  curves,  beads,  &c.,  by  a  fixed  head  and  slide- 
rest  motion,  which  is  a  very  thorough  and  workman-like  tool. 
A  box  of  standard-measure  gauges  for  bolts  and  drills,  consist- 
ing of  twenty-seven  hardened  steel  rings,  and  as  many  steel 
cylinders,  varying  in  diameter  from  three  inches  down  to  one- 
eighth  of  an  inch,  is  a  valuable  addition  to  any  large  machine- 
shop.  The  accuracy  of  these  tests  is  such  that  they  detect 
a  difference  of  magnitude  less  than  the  thinnest  tissue-paper. 
Joseph  Whit  worth,  Manchester,  England,  is  the  maker. 

A  new  Portable  Grist-Mill — new  to  us — (John  T.  Noye, 
Buffalo,  N.  Y.)  seems  very  neat  as  well  as  most  efficient.  Its 
advantages  are  compactness,  portability,  freedom  from  heating 
and  efficiency.  It  is  abundantly  certified  to  grind,  with  stones 
(French  burr)  three  feet  in  diameter,  eighteen  bushels  of  wheat, 
or  twelve  barrels  of  water-lime,  per  hour.  Its  cost  is  too  high  to 
render  it  purchasable  by  farmers  on  a  moderate  scale,  but  the 
great  grain-growers  of  the  "West  may  have  it  as  well  as  millers. 
There  are  cheaper  mills  exhibited,  which  any  farmer  may  buy  ; 
and  we  think  the  day  cannot  be  remote  when  each  considerable 
feeder  of  grain  will  grind  it  on  his  own  premises. 

"  Holden's  Patent  Sheer-Cut  Draft"  (Moore  Holden,  Lawrence- 
burg,  la.)  is  an  undoubted  improvement  on  the  old  method  of 
dressing  mill-stones,  though  there  may  be  new  devices  which 
rival  it.    Millers  should  know. 

"  Storer's  Corn-Kiln,"  to  dry  grain  so  as  to  secure  it  against  the 
danger  of  heating  and  spoiling,  is  a  New-Jersey  invention.  The 
cost  of  drying  by  it  is  said  to  be  less  than  half  a  cent  a  bushel. 
It  dries  starch,  paint,  meal,  &c,  as  well  as  grain. 

How  many  Corn-Shellers  there  may  be  in  the  Palace,  we  can- 
not say  :  the  last  we  noticed  is  that  of  William  Reading,  Flem- 
ino-ton,  N.  J.,  certified  by  Hon.  J.  M.  Clayton  to  shell  one  thou- 
sand bushels  per  day  with  a  force  of  three  men  and  four  horses, 
and  claimed  by  its  patentee  to  be  capable  of  shelling  one  hundred 
and  fifty  to  two  hundred  bushels  per  hour.  The  ears  are  shovelled 
into  its  hopper  with  a  scoop,  or  poured  in  from  a  basket,  and  the 
cobs  are  delivered  apart  from  the  grain.    It  was  patented  in  July 


MACHINERY  AND  INVENTIONS. 


307 


vf  last  year,  and  one  house  sold  two  hundred  and  seventeen 
between  November  and  April  last. 

Several  Cotton-Gins  are  now  on  exhibition,  but  that  of  E. 
Carver  &  Co.,  Bridgewater,  Mass.,  attracts  most  attention,  being 
actually  employed  at  times  in  ginning  the  great  Southern  staple, 
whereof  the  ginned  fibre  escaping  from  the  machinery,  is  ar- 
rested and  confined  within  a  mammoth  glass  case  or  sentry-box 
of  windows.  The  basis  is  of  course  Whitney's  immortal  inven- 
tion, but  Mr.  Carver  avoids  the  choking  or  clogging  of  the  spaces 
between  the  grates  and  the  tearing  of  the  fibre  thence  resulting 
as  well  as  the  tendency  to  overheating  and  destruction  by  spon- 
taneous combustion.  There  can  be  no  doubt  of  the  practical 
utility  of  Mr.  C.'s  grate  and  cylinder-brush, — the  latter  producing 
a  strong  centrifugal  current  ejecting  the  ginned  cotton  to  any  re- 
quired distance  and  preventing  that  dropping  upon  and  winding 
around  the  shaft,  or  collecting  between  the  ends  and  ceiling  of 
the  gin,  which  was  formerly  a  serious  defect  and  a  source  of 
perpetual  danger  from  fire. 

There  is  one  novel  invention  of  which  we  may  have  already 
spoken,  but  which  is  so  placed  as  to  attract  no  attention  com- 
mensurate with  its  merits.  We  allude  to  that  for  Veneering  Un- 
even Surfaces  by  means  of  hydraulic  pressure — which  will  re- 
ward the  careful  study  of  inventors.  We  see  in  it  the  germ  and 
suggestion  of  other  uses,  perhaps  more  important  than  that  to 
which  it  is  primarily  applied.  In  printing,  modelling,  literal 
copying  from  nature,  art  or  antiquity,  it  may  be  made  extensively 
useful. 

In  the  small  court  assigned  to  specimens  of  Typography,  Books, 
Binding,  &c,  may  be  seen  some  primitive  results  of  a  new  inven- 
tion in  Graphics — an  extension  of  Printing  into  the  domain 
hitherto  held,  by  Engraving,  Lithography,  &c,  which  is  destined 
to  work  a  revolution  in  Color  and  Fancy  Printing,  if  no  other. 
Mr.  Donlevy  (the  inventor)  produces,  by  the  use  of  Plastic  and 
Stereotyping,  typographic  effects  superior  in  accuracy  and  force 
to  those  hitherto  attained  through  either  Lithography  or  Wood 
Engraving,  and  at  far  less  cost. 

A  machine  for  making  cots,  or  little  leathern  rolls  used  in 
spinning  (and  of  which  twenty  thousand  per  day,  hitherto  made 


308 


THE  GREAT  EXHIBITION. 


by  hands,  are  worn  out  in  Massachusetts  alone,)  is  one  of  the 
most  ingenious  contributions  of  Connecticut  to  the  Fair.  Those 
who  are  familiar  with  Whittemore's  machine  for  cutting,  bend- 
ing, and  setting  card  teeth,  or  the  machine  for  making  chain  of 
brass  or  other  wire,  invented  at  Derby,  Conn.,  will  readily 
anticipate  its  best  points.  The  leather  is  drawn  into  the  machine 
in  the  shape  of  a  strap  or  belt,  is  cut  off  at  the  proper  length 
diagonally,  so  as  to  form  the  best  edges  for  gumming,  is  then 
rolled  or  doubled  over  so  that  the  two  edges,  being  gummed  in 
the  operation,  exactly  meet  ;  when  they  are  pressed  firmly 
together  and  the  now  perfected  cot  dropped  through  the  machine 
and  another  length  drawn  in,  to  undergo  the  same  process. 
The  inventor's  name  has  escaped  us,  but  it  will  not  be  soon  for- 
gotten. 

A  Weighing  and  Packing  Machine,  for  packers  of  Tea,  Coffee, 
Pepper,  Spices,  &c,  &c,  is  exhibited  by  Slater  &  Steele, 
Jersey  City,  which  seems  excellent  in  its  sphere,  though  that 
sphere  is  a  narrow  one.  The  material  is  fed  from  a  hopper 
over  head,  is  weighed  in  its  descent  from  the  hopper  and  dis- 
charged in  pounds,  half-pounds,  or  otherwise  as  may  be  required, 
into  a  funnel  resting  in  a  square  box,  into  which  a  paper  has 
already  been  conveyed  by  the  machine.  The  box  forms  one 
link  in  an  endless  chain  of  boxes  revolving  around  a  platform, 
and  moving  on  a  few  inches,  receives  through  the  tunnel  a 
square  stamp  just  fitted  to  it,  and  thence  passes  to  another  and 
another,  until  the  fourth  delivers  it  pressed  into  a  solid  mass 
and  enveloped.    Mr.  G.  D.  Jones  is  said  to  be  the  patentee. 

A  Tobacco  Pressing  Machine  is  exhibited,  costing  eight  hun- 
dred dollars  or  so,  and  said  to  press  Tobacco  from  loose  rolls 
into  plugs  as  fast  as  twenty  men  have  hitherto  been  able  to  do 
it.  We  should  judge  that  one  of  these  machines  could  press  as 
much  Tobacco  in  a  day  as  all  mankind  ought  to  chew  from  this 
hour  to  the  final  conflagration  of  the  world. 

Finally — let  no  one  spend  even  an  evening  in  the  Palace 
without  traversing  the  department  of  Machinery.  Elsewhere 
are  results  ;  but  here  are  seen  the  processes  whereby  they  were 
attained,  trophies  of  the  genius  which  rendered  them  attaina- 
ble.   Doubtless,  all  that  has  yet  been  achieved  in  physics  is 


MACHINERY  AND  INVENTIONS. 


309 


but  a  prologue  to  what  remains  to  be  effected  ;  and  perhaps 
some  unnoted,  thinly  clad  youth  now  sidling  noiselessly  and 
shily  through  the  crowd  collected  in  front  of  some  whirring 
Cotton-Gin  or  rasping  Stave-Cutter  shall  be  inspired  by  his 
hurried  visit  and  its  cherished  memories  with  a  fruitful  idea, 
whose  practical  issue  shall  overshadow  in  importance  the 
achievements  of  Watt  and  Fulton,  and  send  his  name  down  to 
remote  generations  enshrined  with  those  of  Galileo,  Columbus, 
Bacon,  Newton,  and  all  those  illustrious  benefactors  of  human- 
ity who  have  signally  enlarged  the  domain  of  terrestrial  knowr 
ledge,  extended  the  sway  of  civilization,  or  increased  the  general 
comfort  and  happiness  of  mankind. 


310 


THE  GREAT  EXHIBITION. 


XXXI. 

MISCELLANEOUS  FARMERS'  TOOLS. 

There  is  a  Clover-Seed  Harvester  in  the  Agricutural  Gallery 
worthy  the  attention  of  those  engaged  in  the  business  of  raising 
clover-seed  for  market.  It  is  a  box  about  a  foot  deep,  four  feet 
in  length  and  width,  mounted  upon  a  pair  of  low  wheels  with  a 
roller  in  front  so  arranged  that  as  the  clover-heads  are  drawn  in 
between  teeth  as  the  machine  is  pulled  forward  by  a  horse,  they 
are  scraped  off  and  saved  in  a  box.  When  that  is  filled,  it  is  un- 
loaded into  a  wagon  or  upon  sheets  laid  down  in  the  field.  It 
has  been  considerably  used  in  various  parts  of  the  United  States, 
and  much  approved.  J.  A.  Wagner  is  the  patentee,  who  says 
that  one  man  or  boy  and  one  horse  can  harvest  twelve  acres  of 
clover  or  timothy-seed  in  a  day.  As  the  heads  only  are  saved, 
but  little  room  is  required  for  storage  of  enough  to  make  a  hun- 
dred bushels.  We  cannot  give  the  cost  of  the  machine,  but  it 
cannot  be  very  expensive. 

There  are  two  models  in  the  gallery  of  Indian  Corn-Cutters. 
The  first  appears  to  be  a  very  simple,  and  we  should  think  very 
effective  machine.  It  certainly  is  a  cheap  one.  A  horse  har- 
nessed in  a  pair  of  thills,  attached  to  a  pair  of  wheels,  walks 
between  two  rows,  while  the  wheels  run  outside  of  the  same. 
Upon  the  axle  there  is  a  knife  for  each  row,  that  cuts  by  drawing 
the  machine  forward,  the  stalks  falling  back  and  are  held  till 
enough  accumulates  for  a  bundle,  when,  by  touching  a  spring, 
they  are  dropped  in  a  pile  ready  for  the  wagon  or  setting  up  to 
cure  in  shocks.  The  corn  is  brought  up  to  the  knives  by  a  reel. 
In  the  model  exhibited,  the  knives  are  not  set  upon  a  sufficient 
angle. 

The  other  model  represents  a  machine  perhaps  more  effective, 
but  a  good  deal  more  complicated,  costly  and  cumbrous.  It  is 
probably  better  for  the  great  Southern  corn,  which  requires  a  blow 


MISCELLANEOUS  FARMERS'  TOOLS. 


311 


almost  equal  to  that  of  an  axe  to  sever  it  from  the  ground.  This 
machine  gives  that  kind  of  a  blow.  The  cutting  apparatus  runs 
upon  the  left  hand  of  a  four-wheeled  platform,  which  is  to  he 
drawn  by  two  horses.  As  the  vehicle  progresses,  a  sort  of  reel  or 
rake  gathers  the  stalks,  no  matter  how  they  lie  about,  and  brings 
them  up  in  between  two  teeth  to  each  row,  when  a  strong  heavy 
knife  fixed  upon  a  shaft  that  revolves  half  round  and  back,  is  con- 
stantly striking  down  obliquely,  cutting  off  the  stalks,  which  fall 
back  upon  a  carrier,  which  drops  them  at  intervals  upon  the 
ground.  These  arms  and  knives  are  adjustable  to  wide  or  nar- 
row rows,  and  if  team  enough  is  applied,  there  is  no  doubt  about 
the  cutting  apparatus.  It  appears  to  us  that  the  machine  is  too 
heavy  and  expensive  for  any  except  very  large,  smooth  farms, 
where  corn  is  grown  by  the  thousand  acres.  The  inventor  claims 
that  by  some  little  change  he  can  cut  hemp  to  perfection.  We 
'hope  those  interested  in  either  crop  will  give  the  model  a  fair  ex- 
amination. They  will  find  it  at  the  head  of  the  South  branch  of 
the  north-east  stairway  from  the  dome. 

There  is  a  model  of  a  California  Re  aping-Machine  in  the  same 
vicinity  which  exhibits  a  great  amount  of  ingenuity.  The  cut- 
ting machinery  is  in  two  parts,  working  from  curious  cranks  and 
cam  motions  in  the  centre,  one  knife  acting  as  a  balance  for  the 
other.  The  frame  is  hinged  in  the  middle,  upon  the  same  prin- 
ciple as  the  hinged  harrow,  to  work  over  uneven  ground.  The 
horses  work  upon  a  shaft  behind,  pushing  the  machine  forward 
of  them,  the  driver  steering  by  a  stern- wheel.  The  grain  as  it  is 
cut  is  to  be  carried  by  rakers  out  upon  bands  on  each  side,  and 
thence  to  the  back  part  of  the  machine,  where  each  bunch  is  held 
long  enough  for  a  man  riding  upon  the  platform  to  tie  it  into  a 
bundle.  We  hope  grain-growers  will  give  this  machine  a  fair 
examination,  particularly  those  who  grow  it  upon  the  same  large 
scale  that  it  is  grown  in  California,  and  give  the  inventor  the 
same  praise  we  do  for  his  ingenuity.  We  hope,  too,  they  will 
have  a  better  opinion  of  ifs  practical  utility  than  we  have. 

Upon  the  same  table  with  the  above  model,  there  is  a  model 
of  a  Potato-Digger.  A  cylinder  armed  with  iron  fingers,  mounted 
upon  wheels  to  which  it  is  geered,  is  to  scoop  the  potatoes  out  of 
the  ground  and  carry  them  over  and  discharge  them  upon  a  shak- 


312 


THE  GREAT  EXHIBITION. 


ing-screen  behind,  when  the  dirt  is  got  rid  of.  It  looks  as  though 
it  would  work  in  mellow  ground. 

In  the  collection  of  Ruggles,  Nourse,  Mason  &  Co.,  may  be 
seenlhe  identical  Plow  used  in  1742  by  Roger  Sherman  of  Con- 
necticut. The  contrast  between  this  plow  and  the  highly-fin- 
ished, beautiful  models  in  the  present  collection,  is  very  striking. 
We  look  with  wonder  now  at  this  century-old  plow,  and  express 
surprise  that  people  could  have  been  so  stupid  as  to  use  such,  an 
implement ;  yet  that  in  its  day  was  called  "  an  improved  plow," 
and  its  owner  used  to  go  about  among  his  neighbors  with  his 
wonderful  plow  to  assist  them  in  their  work.  Now  look  at  those 
of  the  present  day  and  then  at  that.  The  beam  is  four  feet  and 
a  half  long,  the  handles  are  two  nearly  upright  posts,  three  feet 
high,  with  pins  in  behind  ;  the  standard  is  fourteen  inches  high, 
the  mold-board,  standard  and  land-side  are  wood,  partially  plated 
with  iron,  very  roughly  ;  the  length  of  land-side  is  two  feet  four 
inches  ;  from  point  to  wing  of  mold-board  three  feet  ;  the  whole 
about  as  uncouth  a  looking  article  as  one  could  imagine,  and  yet 
a  perfect  specimen  of  the  plow  in  universal  use  in  our  own  time 
in  that  land  of  invention  that  gave  birth  to  this  ;  and  a  superior 
one  to  many  that  are  in  use  in  the  United  States  at  this  very  day. 
But  in  contrast  with  those  in  the  Exhibition  this  is  a  great 
curiosity. 

In  the  same  collection  there  is  a  pump  which  we  denominate 
the  Farm-house  Pump.  -It  is  so  simple,  so  effective,  so  cheap, 
so  little  liable  to  get  out  of  order,  so  easily  repaired  if  it  does, 
that  it  must  recommend  itself  to  people  in  the  country  where 
pump  repairing  is  one  of  the  things  most  often  needed  and 
most  difficult  to  obtain.  Getting  at  the  boxes  of  a  pump  is 
often  the  worst  part  of  the  bad  job  of  repairing.  The  one  now 
under  review  will  never  give  any  of  that  difficulty  as  the  work- 
ing-box, or  the  substitute  for  it,  is  on  the  outside.  Any  body 
who  can  turn  a  screw,  and  use  a  jack-knife  can  repair  all  that  is 
ever  likely  to  get  out  of  order.  It  is  composed  entirely  of  iron, 
except  the  India-rubber  valve,  or  as  it  is  sometimes  called,  the 
diaphragm.  This  pump  and  its  operation  is  entirely  different 
from  any  other.  It  is  all  comprised  in  about  the  space  of  a 
couple  of  large  soup-plates,  one  turned  bottom  up  upon  the 


MISCELLANEOUS  FARMERS'  TOOLS.  313 


other.  Now  suppose  a  lead  pipe  coming  up  through  a  hole  in 
the  bottom  plate,  over  which  is  a  valve.  Then  the  upper  plate, 
all  but  the  rim,  is  composed  of  vulcanized  India-rubber,  the 
edges  of  which  are  screwed  between  the  plates.  To  the  centre 
of  this  rubber  the  piston-rod  is  attached,  and  as  the  handle  is 
lifted  up  it  rises  and  forms  a  vacuum,  which  is  immediately 
filled  with  water.  The  lower  valve  closes  when  the  motion  is 
reversed  and  the  water  thrown  out  through  an  air-chamber  and 
pipe.  Fifty  strokes  of  this  little  machine,  which  can  be  made 
by  a  child  eight  years  old,  will  throw  fifty  quarts  of  water.  In 
setting  it  at  a  well  not  over  twenty-two  feet  deep,  it  is  simply 
screwed  to  a  plank  three  feet  high,  with  a  pipe  running  down 
to  the  water.  If  the  well  is  deeper,  the  pump  must  be  set 
down,  the  piston-rod  lengthened,  and  the  handle  fixed  to  a  pro- 
per height  over  the  well.  This  is  particularly  worthy  the  atten- 
tion of  .farmers,  as  a  hose-pipe  can  be  attached,  and  water  con- 
ducted through  it  by  operating  it  as  a  force-pump  with  great 
ease,  as  all  friction  of  the  boxes  is  absolutely  dispensed  with.  It 
is  a  good  pump  for  a  small  windmill.  If  the  India-rubber  part 
gives  way,  it  is  replaced  with  the  least  possible  trouble  imagin- 
able. The  action  may  be  compared  to  a  bladder  having  a  pipe 
in  the  water  ;  if  the  upper  side  of  the  bladder  is  lifted  up,  water 
would  rush  in  ;  if  compressed  by  a  weight  or  lever,  it  must  be 
discharged  with  force. 

There  is  another  article  in  the  Exhibition  which  we  should 
like  to  call  the  most  particular  attention  of  farmers  to,  as  it  is  a 
machine  very  much  neglected  in  these  latter  days  of  steam 
locomotion.  This  is  nothing  more  than  a  Hand-Loom.  This  is 
one  of  the  most  simple  and  useful  inventions  for  the  new  coun- 
try farmer  in  the  Exhibition.  This  loom  verifies  the  adage 
that  necessity  is  the  mother  of  invention.  It  originated  in 
Iowa,  where  the  country  is  too  new  for  power-loom  manufacto- 
ries in  every  village,  and  where  the  hand-loom  is  still  a  neces- 
sity of  frontier-life.  It  was  invented  by  John  G.  Garretson, 
Salem,  Iowa.  The  whole  motion  of  treadles,  harness  and  shut- 
tle is  caused  by  the  operation  of  moving  the  lathe  back  and 
forth  by  the  hand,  weaving  twilled  cloth  with  the  same  ease 
and  facility  as  plain  webs.    The  frame  is  four  feet  square,  so 

14 


su 


THE  GREAT  EXHIBITION. 


that  it  can  stand  in  a  space  five  by  six  feet,  and  give  ample 
room  to  work.  Except  the  gallows-frame  suspending  the  har- 
ness, it  is  only  about  two  and  a  half  feet  high.  The  wood- 
work is  very  simple,  easily  made  by  any  carpenter,  and  the 
iron-work  almost  none  at  all.  It  is  so  simple  that  almost  any 
farmer,  with  a  jack-plane,  saw,  and  auger,  could  make  it,  and  a 
child  use  it  and  make  twenty  yards  of  cloth  in  a  day. 

It  can  be  seen  in  the  south  end  of  the  machine  department, 
and  should  be  seen  by  every  body  who  needs  a  farmer's  hand- 
loom.  It  is  just  the  thing  for  southern  plantations.  By  the 
side  of  this  loom  may  be  seen  a  piece  of  machinery,  not  exactly 
an  agricultural  one,  yet  we  have  known  several  cases  among 
farmers  where  it  would  have  been  of  signal  advantage.  This 
machine  is  a  locomotive  chair,  so  constructed  that,  with  a  slight 
effort  of  one  hand,  the  poor  invalid  can  propel  himself  in  doors 
or  out,  turning  the  shortest  corners  with  ease,  going  back  or 
forward,  upon  smooth  surfaces,  absolutely  without  labor.  Then 
in  one  minute  he  can  change  it  from  a  self-propeller  to  a  little 
wagon,  to  be  drawn  by  an  assistant.  For  simplicity  and  per- 
fect adaptation  to  its  purposes,  it  is  a  model  machine.  It  is  the 
invention  of  T.  S.  Minnis,  Meadville,  Pa. — a  poor  but  most 
deserving,  and,  as  we  happen  to  know,  an  honest  man. 

Among  the  many  Garden  Tools  in  the  Exhibition,  illustrating 
the  great  improvement  which  has  been  made  in  this  class  of 
farm  instruments  within  a  few  years,  we  are  particularly  pleased 
with  some  manufactured  by  Lyman,  of  Williamsburg,  Mass. 
Eakes  are  made  with  wooden  heads  and  malleable  iron  teeth, 
with  or  without  wooden  bows.  These  rakes  possess  two  advan- 
tages over  those  made  all  of  iron  or  steel — they  are  lighter 
and  cheaper.  They  are  also  made  with  a  rake  one  side  and 
hoe  the  other.    Some  are  designed  expressly  for  boys. 

Of  Churns  there  is  a  small  ship-load,  of  every  conceivable 
form  and  fashion  that  Yankee  ingenuity  could  contrive.  If  the 
reader  has  a  distinct  recollection  of  Jeremiah's  figs,  he  may 
apply  that  description  to  the  family  of  churns  now  in  the 
Crystal  Palace.  We  shall  describe  a  few  of  them,  so  that  our 
readers  will  understand  them  a  good  deal  better  than  they 
would  some  of  them  if  they  had  no  other  way  of  making  butter 


MISCELLANEOUS  FARMERS'  TOOLS. 


315 


except  by  their  operation.  The  ancient  and  honorable  dasher- 
churn  is  usually  made  of  cedar  staves,  partially  cone-shaped — 
that  is,  bigger  at  the  bottom  than  at  the  top,  and  of  all  sizes, 
from  two  to  twenty  gallons.  One  of  medium  size,  say  three 
pails'  full,  would  be  about  eight  inches  across  the  top  and  ten 
at  the  bottom.  The  lid  is  made  movable,  with  a  hole  in  the 
centre  for  the  staff  of  the  dasher,  which  is  a  perforated  board,' 
or  couple  of  pieces  fastened  across  and  to  the  bottom  of  the 
staff.  This  operated  up  and  down,  sometimes  for  hours,  and 
hard  labor  at  that,  produces  the  butter.  To  do  this  work  in 
an  easier  manner,  since  many  housewives  adhere  to  the  old- 
fashioned  churn,  a  very  ingenious,  contriving  fellow,  has  made 
an  attachment  of  a  churn  to  a  straw-cutter,  which  appears  to 
work  with  surprising  ease.  This  machine  will  be  fully  described 
under  our  article  upon  straw-cutters,  in  a  notice  of  one  called 
the  "  Farmer's  Friend."  To  this  machine,  which  has  a  heavy 
fly-wheel,  the  inventor  has  ungeared  the  cutters,  and  attached 
an  arm  to  the  dasher,  so  that  by  turning  the  crank,  it  is  made 
to  work  very  easy.  Any  straw-cutter  that  is  operated  with  a 
crank  and  fly-wheel,  may  be  adapted  to  the  purpose;  and  we 
don't  know  why  the  principle  may  not  be  applied  to  a  grind- 
stone, so  as  to  propel  the  churn  by  turning  the  crank. 

There  is  another  churn,  called  a  "  Self-adjusting  Churn, 
intended  for  churning,  gathering,  working,  and  salting  butter." 
Whether  it  will  milk  the  cows,  strain  and  skim  the  milk,  we 
are  not  informed.  It  is  a  very  strong,  neatly-made  article,  and 
looks  as  though  it  might  do  a  part  of  the  work  claimed  for  it. 
We  advise  butter-makers  to  give  it  a  look.  By  the  side  of  this, 
they  wall  find  another,  the  proprietor  of  which  challenges  the 
world  to  make  as  much  butter  in  as  short  a  time,  from  the 
same  quantity  of  cream,  as  he  can.  This  churn  is  like  a  small 
deep  tub  in  shape,  with  an  upright  shaft,  driven  by  a  crank 
and  gearing.  Upon  the  shaft  are  eight  beaters,  simply  round 
pins ;  and  upon  the  sides  of  the  tub,  three  ribs,  of  a  triangular 
shape,  spirally  set,  assist  to  break  the  cream  in  its  circular 
motion,  and,  by  reversing  the  crank,  help  to  gather  the  butter. 

There  is  another  churn  geared  upon  the  same  principle  as 
the  last,  only  the  wheels  are  between  the  legs  under  the  drum, 


316 


THE  GREAT  EXHIBITION. 


driving  a  shaft  with  a  hollow  tin  tube  that  projects  up  through 
the  lid,  which  is  calculated  to  carry  a  column  of  air  down  to 
the  bottom  of  the  cream,  and  discharge  it  through  openings  in 
a  wheel,  by  which  a  chemical  separation  takes  place  between 
the  butter  and  watery  part  of  the  milk.  It  will,  without  doubt, 
make  butter,  but  we  have  some  fears  whether  it  will  make  it 
well  and  economically.  All  of  the  "  atmospheric  churns " 
which  we  have  seen  operate,  do  not  make  as  good  butter,  or 
as  much  of  it,  as  those  which  give  a  certain  amount  of  agitation 
to  the  cream.  What  they  do  make,  is  generally  done  very 
quickly,  at  a  great  saving  of  time  and  labor.  The  churn  pre- 
viously described,  which  effects  its  work  altogether  by  stirring 
and  breaking  the  cream,  has  frequently  produced  butter  in 
eight  minutes.  The  average  time  of  churning,  however,  is  not 
much  short  of  an  hour,  in  the  old-fashioned  churns. 

There  is  upon  the  same  table  another  contrivance  for  butter- 
making,  represented  with  glass  sides.  It  is  a  square  box  in 
two  compartments,  with  a  dasher  for  each,  both  attached  to  one 
lever,  like  a  pump  handle,  so  that  when  one  goes  up  the  other 
goes  down,  forcing  the  cream  back  and  forth  through  holes  in 
the  partition,  by  which  the  inventor  apparently  thinks  to  gain 
his  object  with  less  labor;  forgetting  that  the  friction  of  the 
cream  through  the  holes  in  the  partition  will  be  as  great  as 
through  the  holes  in  the  dasher.  This,  however,  he  thinks  he 
has  obviated  by  air  tubes  in  the  partition,  through  which  a 
column  of  air  is  drawn  by  the  movement  of  the  cream,  so  that 
it  is  mixed  with  and  buoys  it  up,  and  if  no  other  effect  is  pro- 
duced by  the  air,  it  serves  to  make  the  dasher  work  easier. 

Another  fancy  churn  is  in  the  form  of  a  small  keg,  the  ends 
of  an  oval  shape.  Through  the  centre,  flatwise,  is  a  crank  shaft 
which  carries  a  curiously  shaped  float  or  half  wheel,  which 
seems  to  be  intended  to  scoop  up  cream  on  one  side  and  air  on 
the  other,  and  stir  them  together.  This  may  do  pretty  well, 
but  we  see  no  advantage  in  the  peculiar  shape  of  the  tub. 

Crowell's  Thermometer  Churn  is  to  be  seen  upon  the  same 
table,  and  also  in  several  other  places  in  the  collection  of  Agri- 
cultural Implements.  It  has  the  appearance  of  a  small  wooden 
chest,  standing  upon  legs  formed  of  the  end  boards.  Various 


MISCELLANEOUS  FARMERS'  TOOLS. 


317 


sizes  are  made  from  No.  1,  which  is  sixteen  inches  long  and 
sixteen  inches  high,  and  fourteen  inches  wide,  to  the  largest 
size,  thirty-two  inches  long,  thirty-four  inches  high,  and  twenty- 
one  inches  wide,  holding  a  barrel.  No.  5,  which  is  a  good 
medium  size,  is  twenty-one  inches  long,  twenty-six  inches  high, 
and  eighteen  inches  wide,  and  costs  live  dollars  and  fifty  cents. 
These  churns  are  constructed  of  an  outside  case  of  Wood,  with 
an  inside  lining  of  zinc.  The  top  is  covered  with  a  lid,  the 
cream  is  poured  into  the  zinc  case,  and  water,  cold  or  hot, 
between  that  and  the  wooden  one,  until  the  cream  is  brought  to 
the  temperature  of  sixty-five  degrees  indicated  by  a  thermome- 
ter set  at  one  end  of  the  churn.  The  operation  of  churning  is 
done  by  a  wheel  in  the  cream,  which  is  operated  by  a  crank 
upon  a  shaft  that  passes  out  through  a  tight  stuffing  box  at  one 
end.  This  crank  and  the  floats  of  the  wheel  are  easily  taken 
apart,  and  taken  out  to  remove  the  butter.  This  kind  of  churn 
is  more  generally  used  than  any  other  which  has  "  patent" 
attached  to  its  name  in  this  country,- unless  one  called  Kendall's 
is  an  exception.  Both  are  very  popular — both  compact  and 
neat,  and  operated  by  a  crank  in  the  same  way.  The  latter 
has  no  thermometer,  or  zinc  lining.  It  is  made  of  staves, 
straight  like  a  drum,  with  blocks  or  supports  for  feet  to  stand 
on  a  table,  is  from  twelve  to  twenty-four  inches  diameter,  the 
staves  from  ten  to  eighteen  inches  long,  hooped  with  iron.  The 
cream  is  put  in  at  a  lid  on  the  top,  and  the  beaters  are  shaped 
like  a  small  ladder ;  for  small-sized  churns  used  single,  for 
large-sizes  double,  on  the  form  of  an  X.  They  are  made  gene- 
rally of  pine  or  cedar,  are  cheap,  and  much  liked. 

After  looking  at  the  churn,  take  a  view  of  the  butter-worker. 
It  is  simply  a  table  with  the  back  legs  a  little  the  shortest,  so 
that  the  buttermilk  will  drain  oif  into  a  tub,  it  being  guided  to 
that  by  ledges  around  the  edges  of  the  table.  A  fluted  roller, 
eighteen  inches  long,  six  and  a  half  inches  diameter  at  the  big 
end,  four  and  a  half  inches  at  the  other,  with  a  hook  in  the 
small  end  by  which  it  can  be  caught  upon  a  staple  in  the  table, 
and  a  handle  at  the  other  end,  is  the  butter-worker.  The  butter, 
placed  upon  the  table,  is  rolled  over  and  over  by  this  roller 
until  the  milk  ceases  to  run,  when  it  is  sprinkled  with  salt, 


818 


THE  GREAT  EXHIBITION. 


which  should  be  of  the  best  quality,  ground  very  fine,  and  not 
used  too  lavishly.  Now  if  you  would  like  to  spread  your  but- 
ter upon  your  bread  faster  than  you  can  cut  it  with  a  knife, 
there  is  a  bread-cutting  machine  to  be  seen  close  by.  It  is 
simply  a  piece  of  board  with  a  movable  set  knife,  like  that  of  a 
spoke-shave,  set  diagonally  across,  so  that  a  loaf  of  bread, 
cucumber,  apple,  cabbage,  or  other  substance  to  be  cut  in  slices, 
being  shoved  quickly  across  the  board,  is  sliced  in  whatever 
thickness  the  knife  is  set. 

Another  very  convenient  article  in  the  household  line  is  the 
Sausage  or  Mince-meat  Cutter.  These  are  of  different  forms, 
but  all  upon  the  same  principle — knives  set  in  rows  on  the 
inside  of  a  cylinder,  in  which  runs  a  shaft  armed  with  iron 
spikes  set  in  spiral  rows,  which  carry  the  meat  previously  cut 
in  inch  cubes  around  between  the  knives  and  out  at  the  end, 
completely  masticated  by  the  iron  teeth  and  knives.  One  of 
these  cutters,  large  enough  for  family  use,  is  fourteen  inches 
long,  eight  inches  wide,  and  eight  inches  high  ;  on  the  outside 
of  the  box,  with  twenty  knives  three  quarters  of  an  inch  long, 
set  half  an  inch  apart,  with  square  iron  pins  in  a  wooden  shaft, 
three  inches  diameter,  with  a  wooden  crank,  costing  about  five 
dollars.  One  made  all  of  iron,  same  size  cutting  apparatus, 
costs  double  that  sum.  There  is  another,  a  six  inch  circle, 
about  two  inches  thick,  made  to  screw  on  the  edge  of  a  table 
and  fed  by  the  hand  at  the  side,  which  is  a  very  convenient 
little  machine  for  cutting  up  mince-meat  for  a  family  breakfast. 
The  cost  is  not  over  four  or  five  dollars. 

Next  in  order  comes  the  Sausage-StufTer.  This  is  a  tin  bar- 
rel, four  and  a  half  inches  diameter,  twelve  inches  long,  with 
a  nozzle  of  the  same  length.  This  is  hung  on  a  pivot  upon  a 
wooden  frame,  so  as  to  turn  up  for  convenience  of  filling;  it  is 
then  laid  back  in  its  place,  and  the  case  slipped  on  the  nozzle 
and  held  fast.  A  follower  on  the  end  of  a  rack  is  forced  in, 
by  turning  a  crank  that  works  a  pinion,  and  in  five  seconds 
the  whole  contents  of  the  cylinder  are  discharged  into  the  case, 
if  it  is  long  enough  and  large  enough  to  hold  all.  This  sized 
stufFer  costs  five  dollars.  There  is  a  smaller  size  for  three 
dollars,  on  the  same  principle,  only  the  rack  is  moved  by  an 


MISCELLANEOUS  FARMERS'  TOOLS. 


319 


upright  handle  and  a  quarter-circle  pinion.  The  latter  is  a  very 
nice  article,  more  compact  and  convenient  than  those  with  a 
crank,  and  big  enough  for  any  family.  What  a  saving  of  labor, 
compared  with  the  mode  of  sausage-stuffing  in  our  youthful 
days,  when  the  case  was  taken  in  the  lap,  and  one  end  drawn 
over  a  little  basket  split  hoop,  to  form  an  opening,  and  the 
meat  put  in  by  hand,  after  having  been  cut  with  the  hand- 
chopping  knife. 

There  are  any  number  of  Apple-Paring  Machines,  some  of 
which  are  very  ingenious  labor-saving  tools,  taking  off  the  rind, 
cutting  out  the  core,  and  quartering  the  apple,  almost  as  fast 
as  the  operator  can  pick  them  up  and  place  them  on  the  fork 
under  the  knife.  A  few  rapid  turns  of  the  crank  does  the 
work,  throwing  the  skins  one  way  and  cores  another,  and  drop- 
ping the  quarters  into  a  tub. 

There  is  a  convenient  Fruit-Picker  in  the  Canadian  depart- 
ment. A  long  pole  is  armed  with  a  wire  fixed  upon  the  upper 
end,  which  takes  hold  of  the  stem  of  the  apple  upon  a  twig 
twenty  feet  above  the  ground,  and,  by  a  little  turn  of  the  hand, 
is  wrenched  off  and.  dropped  into  a  cotton  cloth  hose,  and  con- 
ducted down  to  the  operator,  or  deposited  in  a  basket  on  the 
ground. 

But  of  all  things  in  the  fruit  line,  the  most  interesting  in  the 
exhibition  or  out  of  it,  is  a  case  of  Models  of  Fruit ;  apples, 
pears,  plums,  strawberries,  &c.,  done  in  a  substance,  principally 
plaster,  as  hard  and  indestructible  as  stone.  This  work  is  done 
by  only  one  artist  in  this  country,  an  amateur  by  the  name  of 
Townsend  Glover,  of  Fishkill,  N.  Y.  This  case  seems  superior 
to  any  of  the  work  ever  before  exhibited  by  this  gentleman, 
who  has  probably  received  more  medals,  cups,  premiums,  di- 
plomas, and  high  encomiums  for  his  work,  than  any  other  ama- 
teur artist  in  America.  The  composition  is  principally  plaster, 
and  the  apples,  pears,  &c,  are  modelled  from  the  article  to  be 
represented,  and  the  coloring  is  so  perfect  as  to  deceive  the 
very  best  judges.  It  is  well  worth  the  great  attention  which 
it  attracts.  It  may  be  fouud  in  the  south-west  part  of  the  agri- 
cultural gallery. 

Of  patent  Bee-Hives,  there  are  a  sufficient  number  in  the 


320 


THE  GREAT  EXHIBITION. 


Exhibition  to  satisfy  the  seekers  after  certain  preventives  of 
that  great  pest  of  the  apiarian,  the  bee-moth.  All  the  contri- 
vances which  we  have  ever  seen  for  keeping  moths  out  of  hives, 
are  utter  failures  ;  and  now  the  minds  of  those  who  contrive 
new  hives,  seem  to  be  turned  to  the  best  method  of  getting 
them  in,  instead  of  keeping  them  out  of  the  hive.  The  plan 
which  we  like  best,  is  one  where  the  hives  are  set  upon  a  box 
covered  over  with  wove  wire,  the  meshes  of  which  are  too  fine 
to  admit  a  miller  to  pass  through.  This  box  is  about  twice  as 
wide  as  the  hive,  and  may  be  of  any  length,  to  hold  fifty  stands, 
if  you  like.  Under  each  hive  there  is  a  drawer,  into  which  dust 
and  trash  from  the  hive  falls.  This  drawer  is  open  to  the 
moth,  and  here  they  deposit  their  eggs  and  hatch  the  worms 
that  in  due  time  are  to  be  transformed  into  moths.  Of  course, 
the  bee-keeper  must  destroy  them  before  they  arrive  at  that 
age.  In  the  back  part  of  the  box,  there  is  a  feeding-drawer, 
so  arranged,  that  in  winter,  the  bees,  being  shut  in  the  hive, 
can  go  down  under  the  wire-screen  and  exercise,  and  eat  the 
food  provided  for  them,  which  they  will  convert  into  honey. 
The  patentee  of  this  hive  claims  a  great  many  advantages  in 
the  peculiar  arrangements  of  his  hives  and  honey-boxes,  which 
we  do  not  care  a  fig  about ;  but  we  do  think  the  wire-screen 
arrangement  a  good  one,  and  see  no  reason  why  any  common 
box-hive  may  not  be  used  upon  it  to  good  advantage. 


RAW  AND  MANUFACTURED  SILKS. 


321 


XXXV. 

RAW  A N D  MANUFACTURED  SILKS. 

There  is  no  manufacture  which  has  ministered  more  to  what 
are  called  the  elegancies  of  life,  than  that  of  which  we  are  now 
about  to  treat.  Possessing  the  united  characteristics  of  splendor, 
durability  and  comfort,  we  find  in  it  all  the  conditions  supplied 
by  cotton  and  wool,  while  it  surpasses  those  useful  materials  in 
the  richness  and  glossiness  of  its  surface,  and  the  round  and 
swelling  gracefulness  of  its  folds.  If  it  gratifies  the  ostentation 
of  the  rich,  it  occasionally  soothes  the  wounded  pride  of  the  poor. 
The  silk  gown  is  in  fact  the  only  true  leveller  of  social  distinc- 
tions among  women.  The  grocer's  wife  in  her  Sunday  finery 
feels  herself  emboldened  to  return  with  interest  the  contemptuous 
stare  of  the  lawyer's  lady  ;  while,  in  spite  of  her  affected  super- 
ciliousness, the  latter  is  frequently  envious  of  the  superior  good 
taste,  and  even  elegance,  of  her  humbler  neighbor's  attire.  In  a 
philosophical  point  of  view,  the  history  of  the  silk  manufacture 
offers  some  curious  subjects  for  reflection.  Owing  its  origin  to  one 
of  the  most  insignificant  creatures  to  be  found  within  the  whole 
range  of  the  animal  kingdom,  and  its  first  discovery  and  applica- 
tion to  a  people  upon  whom,  notwithstanding  their  natural 
shrewdness  and  ingenuity,  modern  civilization  has  failed  to  shed 
its  light,  it  presents  to  us.  on  the  one  hand,  the  interesting  spec- 
tacle of  an  humble  insect  covering  the  earth  with  its  works, 
while,  on  the  other,  we  see  the  nation  to  whom  we  owe  the  first 
appreciation  of  its  usefulness,  imitating  the  sluggish  progress  of 
the  snail,  and  even  jealously  shutting  out  from  themselves  the 
benefits  to  be  derived  from  an  extended  intercourse  with  their 
fellow-men. 

If  we  are  to  believe  Chinese  writers,  the  manufacture  of  silk 

has  been  practiced  for  thousands  of  years  in  that  country.  The 

date  of  its  first  introduction  into  Europe  is  said  to  have  been  in 

the  reign  of  the  Emperor  Justinian,  and  for  six  centuries  the 

14* 


322 


THE  GREAT  EXHIBITION. 


breeding  of  silk  worms  was  confined  to  the  Greeks  of  trie  Lower 
Empire.  When,  about  the  middle  of  the  twelfth  century,  Eoger, 
king  of  Sicily,  sacked  the  cities  of  Corinth,  Athens  and  Thebes,  he 
carried  off  a  number  of  the  inhabitants  to  Palermo,  who  intro- 
duced into  that  kingdom  the  culture  of  the  insect  and  the  manu- 
facture of  silk.  Hence  the  manufacture  soon  found  its  way  into 
Spain,  France  and  England  ;  in  the  two  latter  of  which  coun- 
tries it  has  made  rapid  progress. 

Silk  may  be  generally  described  as  a  fine  thread  or  filament 
spun  by  various  species  of  caterpillars  of  the  phalama  genus.  It 
is,  strictly  speaking,  the  secretion  of  a  long  pair  of  glandular 
tubes  called  sericteria,  which  terminate  in  a  prominent  pore  or 
spinnaret  on  the  upper  lip.  Previous  to  their  completion,  another 
secretion  from  a  smaller  gland"  glues  together  the  two  fine  fila- 
ments from  the  two  sericteria,  the  thread,  which  appears  single, 
being  in  reality  double,  and  its  quality  being  affected  by  the 
equality  or  otherwise  of  the  secreting  power  of  the  sericteria. 
The  silk- worm  begins  spinning  when  it  is  full  grown,  in  some  con- 
venient spot  affording  points  of  attachment  for  the  first-formed 
thread,  which  is  drawn  from  one  point  to  the  other  until  the  body 
of  the  larva  becomes  loosely  inclosed  by  the  thread.  The  work 
is  then  continued  from  one  thread  to  another,  the  silk-worm 
moving  its  head  and  spinning  in  a  zigzag  way  in  all  directions 
within  reach,  and  shifting  the  body  only  to  cover  the  part  which 
was  beneath  it.  The  silken  case  so  formed  is  called  the  cocoon, 
which  usually  takes  five  days  for  its  completion.  The  silk- worm 
decreases  in  size  and  length  considerably,  then  casts  its  skin,  be- 
comes torpid,  and  assumes  the  form  of  the  chrysalis.  The  pha- 
lazna  is  not  the  only  insect  that  produces  silk.  There  are  several 
species  of  the  aranea  or  spider  which  inclose  their  eggs  in  fine 
threads  of  the  same  material. 

Of  the  Bombyx  mori,  that  species  of  the  phalcena  which  is 
commonly  employed  in  Europe,  and  which,  as  its  name  implies, 
is  fed  exclusively  on  the  leaves  of  the  mulberry  tree,  there  are 
several  varieties — the  result  of  long  domestication  and  careful 
breeding.  The  worms  most  esteemed  in  France,  where  the  art  of 
sericicidture  is  carried  to  a  high  state  of  excellence,  are  those 
known  under  the  names  of  the  "  Sina"  the  "  Syne"  and  the 


RAW  AND  MANUFACTURED  SILKS. 


323 


"  Novi."  The  Sina  is  valued  for  the  whiteness  of  its  silk,  but 
its  thread,  although  fine,  is  weak,  and  not  very  lustrous.  The 
Syric  is  fertile  in  production  ;  its  thread,  however,  is  large  and 
coarse,  with  a  tendency  toward  a  greenish  tint.  The  cocoons  of 
the  Novi  are  firm  and  well  made,  the  color  of  the  silk  inclining 
toward  yellow. 

Heat  seems  to  be  the  agent  employed  in  most  of  the  processes 
for  killing  the  pupa,  and  extracting  it  from  the  cocoon  preparatory 
to  unwinding  the  thread  from  the  latter — an  operation  requiring 
the  exercise  of  the  greatest  skill  and  experience.  The  method 
employed  by  the  Chinese  is  described  by  the  old  French  Mission- 
aries to  have  been  as  follows  : 

"The  extremities  of  the  cocoon  are  first  cut  off  with  a  pair  of 
scissors  ;  they  are  then  put  in  a  canvas  bag  and  immersed  for 
an  hour  or  more  in  a  kettle  of  boiling  ley,  which  dissolves  the 
gum.  When  this  is  effected,  they  are  taken  from  the  kettle, 
pressed  to  expel  the  ley,  and  left  till  the  next  morning  to  dry. 
While  they  are  still  moist,  the  chrysalis  is  extracted  from  each 
cocoon,  which  is  then  turned  inside  out,  to  make  a  sort  of  cowl. 
They  are  then  easily  wound  into  thread." 

The  specimens  of  raw  silk  contributed  to  the  London  Exhibi- 
tion comprised  not  only  almost  all  the  varieties  of  the  article 
produced  in  different  countries,  but  afforded  an  opportunity  of 
comparing  the  results  and  testing  the  value  of  the  improvements 
introduced  in  the  rearing  of  the  insect.  The  French,  who,  as 
we  have  already  stated,  have  of  late  years  devoted  great  atten- 
tion to  the  science  of  sericiculture,  bore  away  the  honors  to 
which  their  efforts  justly  entitled  them.  The  Jury,  in  order  to 
testify  their  admiration  of  the  specimens  exhibited  by  the  Cen- 
tral Society  of  France,  and  their  appreciation  of  the  important 
influence  which  it  had  exercised  in  the  improvement  of  this 
beautiful  and  valuable  product  of  the  animal  kingdom,  unani- 
mously concurred  in  recommending  the  award  of  the  Council 
Medal  to  that  body,  and  at  the  same  time  gave  the  honor  of 
their  first  notice  to  the  samples  of  unbleached  silks  and  cocoons 
exhibited  by  Count  Bronno  Bronski,  of  St.  Selves,  near  Bor- 
deaux. The  cocoons  shown  by  this  gentleman  were  unusually 
large  and  regular  in  their  form,  while  the  silk  obtained  from 


324 


THE  GREAT  EXHIBITION. 


them  was  distinguished  by  its  length,  pure  white  color,  and  its 
fineness  and  lustre.  The  circumstances  under  which  this  supe- 
rior quality  of  silk  was  obtained  are  certified  in  a  report  by  a 
committee  of  the  Agricultural  Society  of  the  GiTonde,  dated 
28th  April,  1847,  to  be  as  follows  :  "In  1836  Major  Bronski 
reared  separately  the  eggs  of  the  three  varieties  4  Sina,'  4  Syne' 
and  4  Novi.'  In  1837  he  set  apart  the  cocoons  of  the  varieties 
1  Syrie'  and  4  Novi,'  and  on  the  exclusion  of  the  4  imago,'  a  per- 
fect insect,  he  associated  the  males  of  the  4  Novi'  with  the  females 
of  the  4  Syrie,'  and  the  hybrid  ova  were  hatched  at  the  ordinary 
period  in  1838,  the  operations  being  repeated  in  1839  and  1840. 
With  regard  to  the  race  4  Sina/  M.  Bronski  in  1837  separated 
the  wThite  from  the  black  worms  as  soon  as  they  were  hatched. 
He  then  selected  the  largest  and  best  shaped  co-coons,  and  made 
a  special  collection  of  the  eggs  from  the  moths  excluded  from 
those  cocoons.  This  procedure  wras  repeated  in  1838  and  1839, 
but  in  1840  he  associated  the  males  excluded  from  the  large 
cocoons  of  the  black  worms  with  the  females  excluded  from 
those  of  the  white  worms.  In  1841  he  associated  the  male  of 
the  4  Sina'  race  with  the  hybrid  females  obtained  from  the  above- 
described  .crossings  of  the  4  Novi'  and  '  Syrie'  breeds.  By  these 
and  similar  experiments,  M.  Bronski  at  length  appears  to  have 
succeeded  in  obtaining  a  race  of  silk- worms  not  subject  to  dis- 
ease, producing  large  and  equal-sized  cocoons  of  a  pure  white 
color,  the  silk  of  which  is  equal  in  all  its  length,  strong  and 
lustrous,  and  presenting  an  average  length  of  thread  of  one 
thousand  and  fifty-seven  metres." 

Among  the  specimens  transmitted  from  Italy,  the  preference 
was  given  to  those  of  Tuscany,  the  qualities  of  which  were 
highly  commended,  although  not  deemed  equal  to  those  we 
have  just  described.  The  Turkish  silks  were  also  greatly 
admired  for  their  fineness,  strength,  and  elasticity,  and  a  prize 
medal  was  awarded  to  the  school  of  Sericiculture  at  Broussa, 
as  well  as  to  several  private  exhibitors  from  Turkey. 

In  the  Chinese  and  Indian  departments  some  very  fine  sam- 
ples were  also  shown — those  from  the  latter  country  exhibiting 
a  marked  improvement  on  the  qualities  that  usually  find  their 
way  into  the  market.    The  Bengal  silk  was  originally  but  little 


RAW  AND  MANUFACTURED  SILKS. 


825 


esteemed,  from  the  careless  manner  in  which  it  was  wound 
and  its  inferiority  of  quality  generally.  In  1757,  the  East 
India  Company  sent  out  a  gentleman  named  Wilder,  who  had 
devoted  a  great  deal  of  attention  to  the  subject,  to  assist  the 
natives  by  his  experience;  and  twelve  years  later  he  was  joined 
by  a  number  of  other  Europeans  in  the  various-  capacities  of 
drawers,  winders,  reelers,  and  mechanics.  The  filatures  were 
all  in  Bengal  and  to  the  southward  of  twenty-six  degrees  of 
north  latitude — the  north-west  provinces  being  too  hot  and  too 
dry  for  the  silk-worm.  For  many  years  attempts  were  made, 
under  the  direction  of  an  Italian  named  Mutti,  to  introduce  the 
culture  of  the  silk-worm  on  the  western  side  of  India,  but  the 
enterprise  proved  a  failure.  The  silk  produced  in  Mysore  is  of 
a  superior  quality  as  compared  with  the  products  of  other  parts 
of  India,  and  it  is  probable  that  the  culture  of  the  silk-worm 
could  be  advantageously  prosecuted  in  the  valleys  of  the  Hima- 
laya, if  the  owners  of  the  soil  would  turn  their  attention  to  it. 
Beside  the  silk  from  the  ordinary  silk-worm,  (Bombyx  mori) 
called  in  India  pat,  stronger  and  coarser  kinds  of  silk  are  pro- 
duced from  the  tussur  moth,  (Saturnalia  mylitta)  which  feeds 
on  the  leaves  of  the  terminalia  catappa,  and  from  the  Bombyx 
Satumia,  which  feeds  upon  the  same  trees  as  the  tussur.  The 
JEri  silk  is  produced  from  the  phalama  cynthia,  which  feeds  upon 
the  ricinus  communis.  From  these  latter  varieties  are  manu- 
factured the  silks  known  as  the  tussur,  moonga  and  eri  cloths. 

Although  the  samples  of  raw  silk  contributed  to  the  New- 
York  Exhibition  do  not  form  a  collection  as  complete  as  that  of 
London,  there  is  here  a  sufficient  variety  to  indicate  the  progress 
that  has  been  made  in  the  rearing  of  the  worm,  and  to  determine 
the  merits  of  the  different  breeds.  In  the  French  Department, 
there  are  no  less  than  eight  exhibitors  of  raw  silk  ;  most  of  the 
samples  shown  by  them  are  of  excellent  quality,  being  in  general 
remarkable  for  the  purity  of  their  color  and  the  fineness  and  lustre 
of  their  thread.  From  Austria,  we  only  find  specimens  from  two 
producers,  although  large  quantities  of  silk  are  raised  in  her 
Italian  provinces.  Sardinia  shows  some  very  good  samples ; 
they  are  not  equal,  however,  to  those  we  saw  at  the  London  Ex- 
hibition, and  which  bore  away  the  prize  medal.    England  sends 


S26 


THE  GREAT  EXHIBITION. 


us  one  sample  of  home-produced  silk,  but  her  attempts  in  this  way 
are,  at  best,  but  sickly  efforts — her  ungenial  climate  opposing 
insurmountable  obstacles  to  the  successful  culture  of  the  worm.  It 
may  be  within  the  recollection  of  some  of  our  readers  that  at  the 
London  Exhibition  the  Jury  of  the  Silk  Department  made  hon- 
orable mention  of  some  specimens  shown  by  Mrs.  Catherine 
Dodge,  which  were  produced  from  silk  worms  reared  on  the  leaves 
of  the  white  mulberry  at  God  aiming  in  Surrey  ;  but  this  tribute 
of  approval  was  awarded  rather  to  the  perseverance  that  could 
struggle  against  such  difficulties  than  to  the  quality  of  the  sam- 
ples themselves. 

It  is  to  be  regretted  that  we  have  no  samples  of  the  raw  pro- 
duce of  our  silk-raising  States  among  the  specimens  shown  at  the 
Exhibition.  The  unprofitable  results  of  the  efforts  that  have 
been  made  to  render  the  culture  of  the  worm  indigenous  to  our 
soil  seem  to  have  disheartened  and  discouraged  those  engaged  in 
them,  to  an  extent  that,  on  careful  inquiry,  appears  neither  well- 
founded  nor  reasonable.  If,  as  Ave  have  reason  to  believe,  they 
are  still  convinced  that  the  disappointment  and  partial  failure  in 
which  they  have  ended,  are  to  be  attributed  rather  to  the  mis- 
takes that  were  made  in  the  earlier  stages  of  the  enterprise  than, 
as  is  alleged  by  some,  to  insuperable  difficulties  arising  from  the 
peculiarities  of  our  climate,  it  is  not  consistent  with  the  charac- 
teristic energy  and  perseverance  of  our  countrymen  that  they 
should  thus  relax  their  efforts  and  abandon  to  others  the  mono- 
poly of  an  industry  from  which  such  vast  returns  might  be 
obtained.  It  is  anything  but  a  pleasing  retrospect  to  trace  the 
history  of  the  culture  of  Silk  in  this  country,  presenting  as  it  does 
such  a  lamentable  series  of  individual  failures  (due*  for  the  most 
part,  to  ignorance  or  inexperience.)  As,  however,  it  may  have 
the  effect  of  again  calling  attention  to  the  subject,  and  perhaps 
of  dispelling  the  erroneous  notions  that  still  prevail  among  many, 
as  to  the  impossibility  of  our  growing  the  proper  description  of  food 
for  the  silk- worm  in  this  climate,  we  will  endeavor  to  put  our 
readers  in  possession  of  the  facts  upon  which  this  conclusion  is 
founded. 

We  owe  the  introduction  of  the  silk-worm,  in  this  country,  to 
James  L,  who,  excited  by  the  success  which  had  attended  its 


RAW  AND  MANUFACTURED  SILKS. 


327 


culture  in  France,  made  strenuous  efforts  not  only  to  promote  it 
in  England,  but  to  extend  it  to  his  American  colonies.  With  this 
view,  he  addressed  a  letter  to  the  Virginia  Company  in  1G22, 
enjoining  them  "  to  apply  themselves  diligently  and  promptly 
to  the  bleeding  of  silk- worms,  and  the  establishment  of  silk- 
works,"  and  advising  them  rather  to  bestow  their  labors  in  pro- 
ducing this  silk  commodity  than  in  growing  "  that  pernicious  and 
offensive  weed,"  tobacco,  an  article  to  which  this  monarch  had  a 
violent  aversion.  In  compliance  with  his  Majesty's  wishes,  the 
Company  immediately  forwarded  his  letter  to  the  Governor 
and  Council  of  Virginia,  together  with  minute  instructions  for 
carrying  out  its  objects,  and  several  copies  of  a  work  on  the 
management  of  the  insect,  written  by  Mr.  Bonoeil,  a  member 
of  their  body.  This  gentleman  was  so  fully  convinced  of  the 
practicability  of  the  undertaking,  that  he  engaged  personally  in 
it,  being,  as  he  publicly  stated,  "  satisfied  that,  with  an  adequate 
number  of  hands,  such  a  quantity  of  silk  might  be  produced  in 
Virginia,  as  in  a  very  short  time  would  be  sufficient  to  supply 
all  Christendom."  The  troubles  into  which  the  colony  was  soon 
after  plunged,  and  which  brought  about  the  dissolution  of  the 
company,  served  to  check,  for  some  time,  the  execution  of  the 
project.  A  considerable  number  of  mulberry  trees  were  planted, 
and  throve  exceedingly  well ;  the  amount  of  silk  produced,  how- 
ever, was  but  small. 

About  thirty  years  afterward,  a  fresh  impulse  was  given  to  the 
speculation  by  a  person  named  Diggs,  who  confidently  asserted 
that  he  had  overcome  all  the  difficulties  that  had  attended  the 
first  experiment.  It  does  not  seem,  however,  that  his  promises 
were  attended  with  the  results  anticipated,  for  but  little  increase 
was  made  in  the  amount  of  production.  The  planters,  no  doubt, 
found  it  more  profitable  to  devote  themselves  to  the  culture  of 
tobacco,  of  which  they  were  now  exporting  large  quantities. 

The  attention  of  the  settlers  in  Georgia  was  early  directed 
to  this  branch  of  industry.  Some  land  belonging  to  the  Govern- 
ment was  allotted  in  1732,  as  a  nursery  plantation  for  white 
mulberries ;  and  the  results,  at  first,  appeared  to  be  of  a  most 
promising  character.  The  English  Government,  desirous  of 
rendering  itself  independent  of  foreign  states  for  the  supply  of 


828 


THE  GREAT  EXHIBITION. 


a  material  so  important  to  its  growing  manufactures,  introduced 
a  bill  into  Parliament  in  1749,  having  for  its  object  the  encou- 
ragement of  the  growth  of  colonial  silk,  and  which  relieved 
from  duty  all  silk  entered  at  the  port  of  London,  which  was 
certified  to  be  the  production  of  Georgia  and  Carolina.  Not 
satisfied  with  the  passing  of  this  measure,  bounties  wrere  further 
offered  for  the  production  of  silk  ;  and  an  Italian  gentleman, 
named  Ottolenghe,  who  had  had  great  experience  in  the  man- 
agement of  similar  establishments,  was  engaged,  at  a  high  salary, 
to  proceed  to  the  towTi  of  Savannah,  to  take  charge  of  a  large 
filature  which  had  been  established  there.  An  immediate  im- 
petus was  given  to  the  culture  of  silk  by  this  establishment ; 
the  mulberry  was  extensively  cultivated,  and  considerable  quan- 
tities of  raw  silk  exported  to  England.  Owing,  however,  to 
the  inferior  quality  of  the  silk,  and  the  disastrous  results  of  one 
or  two  unfavorable  seasons,  its  culture  soon  began  to  decline, 
and  the  lessening  of  the  bounty  soon  put  an  end  to  it  altogether. 
Another  circumstance  contributed,  perhaps,  as  much  to  the 
abandonment  of  the  enterprise  as  the  causes  we  have  mentioned, 
namely,  the  introduction  of  the  indigo  plant.  The  planters 
found,  in  this  new  branch  of  industry,  advantages  so  immediate 
and  certain,  that  they  no  longer  cared  to  employ  their  time 
and  capital  in  a  speculation  which  was  attended  with  so  much 
trouble  and  risk. 

In  South  Carolina,  the  rearing  of  the  silk-worm  was  com- 
menced about  the  year  1732,  but  was  at  first  principally  con- 
fined to  the  small  farmers,  who  produced  on  an  average  from 
forty  to  fifty  pounds'  weight  of  silk  each  in  the  course  of  the 
season.  A  few  capitalists  subsequently  took  an  interest  in  the 
speculation,  and  among  others,  M.  De  St.  Pierre,  who  sacrificed 
his  whole  fortune  in  his  efforts  to  improve  the  imperfect  system 
of  management  upon  which  it  had  been  carried  on.  Some 
specimens  of  the  silk  produced  by  him  were  forwarded  to  Eng- 
land in  1771,  and  the  Society  of  Arts  thought  so  highly  of  them 
that  they  presented  him  with  their  gold  medal  and  a  premium 
of  fifty  pounds.  Notwithstanding  the  encouragement  thus 
held  out,  the  enterprise  shared  the  same  fate  with  that  of  the 
attempts  already  noticed  in  the~  other  States.    Owing  to  causes 


RAW  AND  MANUFACTURED  SILKS. 


329 


which  we  shall  presently  have  occasion  to  examine,  the  cost  of 
production  proved  too  great  for  successful  competition  with 
foreign  silk. 

In  1769,  Franklin,  who  was  then  in  England,  carefully 
observing  everything  that  might  be  turned  to  the  advantage  of 
this  country,  suggested  to  the  American  Philosophical  Society, 
(then  lately  instituted,  and  of  which,  though  residing  abroad, 
he  had  been  elected  the  first  president,)  the  patriotic  idea  of 
introducing  the  culture  of  silk  into  Philadelphia,  and  recom- 
mended a  commencement  by  the  establishment  of  a  filature. 
The  Society  warmly  embraced  his  views  ;  application  was  made 
to  the  Legislature  for  assistance,  but,  it  appears,  without  suc- 
cess, and  the  necessary  sum  was  finally  raised  by  subscription. 
The  filature  was  established  in  Seventh-street,  between  Market 
and  Arch-streets ;  a  skillful  Frenchman  was  placed  at  the  head 
of  it,  and  the  Society  procured  the  necessary  machine  (the  Pied- 
mont reel)  to  wind  the  cocoons.  It  is  asserted,  that  the  silk 
reeled  in  this  filature  was  equal  in  quality  to  the  best  silk  im- 
ported from  France  or  Italy.  There  may  be  some  exaggeration 
in  this,  but  as  regards  the  quantity  of  silk  reeled,  there  can  be 
no  doubt.  In  a  period  of  less  than  two  months,  from  the  25th 
of  June  to  the  15th  of  August,  1771,  more  than  2,300  pounds 
of  cocoons  were  brought  to  the  filature  to  be  reeled,  or  wTere 
bought  by  the  managers.  The  whole  of  this  silk  was  produced 
in  Pennsylvania,  New-Jersey,  and  Delaware.  The 'Revolution 
put  an  end  to  this  useful  establishment. 

About  the  year  1789,  a  project  was  formed  to  extend  the 
culture  of  the  mulberry-tree  all  over  the  States  of  the  Union ; 
and  steps  were  taken  to  carry  it  into  execution,  by  the  forma- 
tion of  extensive  nurseries  at  New- York,  Long  Island,  Prince- 
ton, N.  J.,  and  Philadelphia.  The  immediate  motive  of  this 
new  scheme  was  the  hope  entertained  that,  in  the  then  disturbed 
state  of  Europe,  the  emigration  from  the  silk-producing  coun- 
tries would  bring  crowds  of  skilled  cultivators  to  our  shores, 
and  that  a  fresh  impulse  would  thereby  be  given  to  this  branch 
of  industry.  These  expectations,  however,  were  not  destined 
to  be  realized. 

In  the  year  1829,  public  attention  was  attracted  by  some 


330 


THE  GREAT  EXHIBITION. 


essays  published  in  The  National  Gazette,  by  Mr.  D'Homergue, 
of  Philadelphia,  a  gentleman  formerly  engaged  in  the  cultivation 
of  silk  in  France,  in  which  he  pointed  out  the  causes  of  these 
repeated  failures,  and  contended  that  the  filature  system  was 
the  only  means  by  which  the  culture  of  silk  could  be  made  a 
source  of  profit  to  this  country.  The  popularity  of  these  letters 
induced  the  w  riter  to  publish  them  in  the  form  of  a  pamphlet, 
which  attracted  the  notice  of  Congress,  who  referred  it  to  their 
Committee  on  Agriculture,  with  power  to  enter  fully  upon 
the  subject,  and  report  on  the  best  course  to  be  pursued.  The 
Committee  immediately  appreciated  the  importance  of  the 
suggestions  thrown  out  by  Mr.  D'Homergue  in  his  pamphlet, 
and  unanimously  determined  to  establish  a  normal  filature  for 
the  instruction  of  the  people. 

Before  we  proceed  to  notice  the  further  steps  taken  in  this 
matter,  it  will  be  necessary  for  us  to  explain,  briefly,  the  views 
of  Mr.  D'H.  Everywhere  in  Europe  the  conversion  of  raw 
silk  into  sewing  silk  is  the  business  of  the  throwster.  The  farmer 
confines  himself  to  his  cocoons  and  his  reel,  and  leaves  the  rest 
to  those  mechanics  who  have  acquired  a  sufficient  degree  of  skill 
in  their  respective  arts,  and  employ  competent  machinery.  In 
this  country,  on  the  contrary,  everything — spinning,  twisting, 
and  even  dyeing — had  been,  up  to  this  time,  done  by  the  same 
hands,  and  with  rude  instruments  not  at  all  fitted  to  the  pur- 
pose. The  silk  was  reeled  from  the  cocoons  by  the  common 
spinning-wheel,  and  was  twisted  into  an'  inferior  sewing-silk, 
which  could  not  stand  competition  with  that  imported  from  Eu- 
rope. That  to  the  imperfect  mode  of  reeling,  more  than  to  any 
other  cause,  the  inferiority  of  our  home-produced  silk,  and  the 
consequent  failure  of  our  attempts  to  give  importance  to  this 
branch  of  industry,  were  owing,  was  clearly  demonstrated  by 
Mr.  D'Homergue.  He  showed,  from  the  returns  of  two  coun- 
ties— -Windham  and  Tolland,  Ct. — which  he  visited  for  the 
purpose  of  inquiry,  that  it  was. impossible,  under  the  then  sys- 
tem of  management,  that  the  production  of  either  raw  or  manu- 
factured silk  could  be  attended  with  other  than  loss  to  the 
producers.  This  statement,  is  so  curious,  and  illustrates  so 
perfectly  the  general  ignorance  and  carelessness  that  prevailed 


RAW.  AND  MANUFACTURED  SILKS. 


331 


throughout  the  Union,  in  the  treatment  of  the  cocoons  and  the 
general  economy  of  the  manufacturer,  that  we  cannot  do  better 
than  give  it  in  his  own  words  : 

"  We  were  informed  by  persons,  the  best  acquainted  with  the 
business  of  the  place,  and  worthy  of  full  credit,  that  the  sales  of 
sewing-silk  in  these  twro  counties  amounted  annually  to  $15,000 
or  $18,000.  That  amount  was  produced  by  8,000  lbs.  of  raw 
silk,  each  made  out  of  20  lbs.  of  cocoons,  which  makes,  in  the 
whole,  160,000  lbs.  of  those  balls.  Now,  we  beg  to  be  allowed 
a  few  observations  on  these  important  facts.  In  the  first  place, 
what  a  small  sum  is  $18,000,  the  highest  in  the  computation, 
and  that  nominal  too,  for  the  proceeds  of  160,000  lbs.  of  cocoons, 
to  which  is  to  be  added  all  the  labor  and  expense  put  upon  that 
material  to  convert  it  into  sewing-silk  !  Were  the  farmers  to  sell 
these  cocoons  at  only  20  cents  a  lb.,  (the  lowest  price  for  good 
cocoons  that  we  can  think  of,)  they  would  produce  $32,000, 
nearly  double  the  amount  above  mentioned,  and  that  in  ready 
cash,  (for  they  are  a  cash  article,)  without  the  labor  and  expense 
attending  the  reeling,  twisting  and  boiling,  and  the  dyeing  in 
various  colors. 

"  It  may  be  said  that,  since  we  were  in  Connecticut,  that  State 
has  allowed  to  the  reelers  a  bounty  of  fifty  cents  on  every  pound 
of  raw  silk  reeled  on  an  improved  reel,  which  they  should  produce. 
We  shall  say  nothing  of  the  improved  reel,  but  we  say  that  even 
with  that  bounty  which,  on  8,000  lbs.  of  raw  silk,  which  we  have 
shown  above  to  be  their  yearly  production,  would  amount  to  only 
$4,000,  they  would  make  less  than  by  the  sale  of  their  cocoons  ; 
for  $4,000  added  to  $18,000,  the  admitted  produce  of  their 
cocoons  wrought  into  sewing-silk,  make  only  $22,000,  and  their 
cocoons  at  20  cents  per  pound  would  produce  $32,000  ;  difference 
$10,000. 

"  If,  on  the  contrary,  the  cocoons  were  sold  for  ready  cash,  that 
money  wTould  circulate  among  the  people,  stimulate  their  exer- 
tions, increase  the  quantity  of  silk,  and  enrich  the  whole  country  ; 
filatures  would  be  established  in  their  neighborhood,  and  the  State 
of  Connecticut,  now  so  thrifty,  would  experience  the  highest  de- 
gree of  prosperity.  We  hope  it  is  not  too  late,  and  that  these  fair 
prospects  will  yet  come  to  be  realized, 


832 


THE  GREAT  EXHIBITION. 


"  It  might  perhaps  "be  enough  to  have  shown  that  this  domestic 
manufacture  of  sewing-silk,  after  all  the  labor  and  expense  be- 
stowed upon  it,  produces  in  its  results  from  30  to  40  per  cent, 
less  than  the  first  raw  material  (the  cocoons)  would  produce  in  an 
open  market ;  but  we  think  it  will  not  be  amiss  to  show  here 
what  are  the  causes  of  this  enormous  difference.  "We  can  easily 
demonstrate  that  it  is  entirely  to  be  ascribed  to  the  imperfection 
of  the  implements  used  and  the  methods  pursued,  all  of  which 
arise  from  a  lamentable  ignorance  of  the  art  of  reeling  and  the 
mechanism  of  throwing,  by  which  alone  the  raw  material  can  be 
converted  into  good  and  merchantable  sewing  silk.  A  few  re- 
flections on  the  facts  above  stated  will  be  sufficient  to  convince 
the  reader  of  the  truth  of  this  assertion. 

"  1.  Twenty  pounds  of  cocoons,  employed  in  making  one 
pound  of  raw  silk,  are  double  the  quantity  employed  in  Europe 
for  the  same  purpose.  Here  then  is  a  loss  of  one  hundred  per 
cent. 

"2.  The  sum  of  $18,000,  which,  on  the  highest  calculation, 
is  the  amount  of  the  annual  proceeds  of  all  sewing-silk  made  in 
the  two  counties  above  mentioned,  at  the*  current  price  of  $4  a 
pound,  represents  only  4,500  pounds  of  sewing-silk  ;  and  that 
is  made  as  above  stated  out  of  8,000  pounds  of  raw  silk  ;  here 
is  again  a  loss  of  nearly  fifty  per  cent. 

"  This  loss  is  almost  entirely  produced  by  the  imperfect  reel- 
ing of  the  raw  silk  ;  in  technical  language,  it  is  called  waste. 
We  know  that  thrown  silk  loses  something  of  its  weight  by  the 
dissolution  of  the  gum  in  boiling;  but  that,  never  exceeds 
twenty  per  cent.  ;  and  we  know  that  this  loss  is  more  or  less 
compensated  by  the  dyeing,  particularly  in  black.  In  Europe, 
when  sewing-silk  is  dyed  in  black,  the  dyer  is  obliged  to  return 
the  same  weight  of  silk  that  he  has  received,  so  that  the 
greatest  part,  and  sometimes  the  whole,  of  this  loss  of  weight 
in  Connecticut,  must  be  attributed  to  waste  occasioned  by  bad 
reeling. 

"  The  loss  suffered  in  Europe  on  the  best  raw  silk  in  the 
operation  of  throwing  or  twisting  seldom  exceeds  four  per 
cent,  when  thrown  in  Italy  and  five  when  thrown  in  England. 
That  which  was  sent  to  England  from  the  experimental  filature 


RAW  AND  MANUFACTURED  SILKS. 


833 


at  Philadelphia,  to  be  manufactured,  suffered  only  a  loss  of. 
three  five-eighths  per  cent.,  which  shows  the  great  strength  of 
American  silk.  It  must  be  acknowledged  that  it  was  thrown 
with  great  care  by  Mr.  Edward  Molyneux,  an  eminent  silk 
throwster  at  Manchester,  from  whose  report  we  have  stated  the 
above  fact.  Let  this  be  compared  with  the  immense  loss  suf- 
fered by  the  fair  manufacturers  of  sewing-silk  in  Connecticut. 
Waste  of  the  cocoons  in  reeling,  waste  of  the  raw  silk  in  twist- 
ing. Can  the  nation  ever  expect  to  derive  profits  from  this 
mode  of  proceeding?" 

This  was  written  in  1829.  It  presents  a  faithful  picture  of 
the  general  improvidence  and  recklessness  of  economical  re- 
sults which  seem  to  have  marred  all  the  fair  hopes  that  were 
at  one  time  entertained  for  this  fruitful  branch  of  industry,  and 
which  seem  to  have  annihilated  all  motive  for  further  effort. 
But  we  must  not  digress. 

From  what  has  been  just  stated,  our  readers  will  arrive  with 
us  at  the  conclusion  that  the  only  chance  of  removing  the  evils 
therein  pointed  out,  was  to  be  found  in  the  measure  suggested 
by  Mr.  D'Homergue  and  decided  upon  by  the  Committee  of 
Agriculture  :  namely,  the  establishment  of  a  normal  school  of 
filature  for  the  instruction  of  those  engaged  in  the  culture  of 
silk.  We  will  again  see,  however,  the  same  fatality  wThich 
seems  to  have  impended  over  the  heads  of  all  connected  with 
this  branch  of  industry  from  the  beginning,  contributing  to  de- 
feat this  new  project.  The  Committee,  having  decided  on  the 
formation  of  the  school,  made  a  communication  to  Mr. 
D'Homergue  through  their  Chairman,  Mr.  Spencer,  expressing 
their  desire  to  place  him  at  its  head,  and  requesting  to  know  on 
what  terms  he  would  accept  its  direction.  They  proposed  a 
plan  which  Mr.  Duponceau  thought  could  not  be  carried  into 
execution  without  too  much  expense,  and  which  was,  beside, 
attended  with  many  difficulties.  He  suggested  another  on  a 
more  moderate  scale,  to  which  Mr.  D'Homergue  agreed,  and 
this  plan  was  adopted  by  the  Committee,  and  a  bill  known  as 
the  Silk  Bill,  embracing  all  its  details,  reported  to  Congress. 
It  remained  pending  there  three  sessions,  and,  on  the  22d  of 
May,  1832,  was  finally  rejected.    It  should  be  stated  that, 


334 


THE  GREAT  EXHIBITION. 


while  the  bill  was  before  the  House,  a  new  Committee  of 
Agriculture  had  been  appointed,  of  which  the  Hon.  Erastus 
Root,  of  New-York,  was  Chairman,  and  this  Committee  de- 
clared themselves  opposed  to  the  bill.    Mr.  Du ponceau  and 
Mr.  D'Homergue  went  to  Washington  and  appeared  before  the 
Committee.    They  were  examined  and  cross-examined  by  its 
members,  and  the  result  was  that  the  Chairman,  Gen.  Root, 
and  several  of  its  members  who  had  been  before  decidedly 
hostile  to  the  bill,  entirely  changed  their  opinion,  and  the  Chair- 
man supported  it  eloquently  in  the  debates  that  ensued  in  Con- 
gress.    Although  the  bill  numbered  among  its  supporters  such 
men  as  John  Quincy  Adams,  Governor  Everett,  of  Massa- 
chusetts, Governor  White,  of  Louisiana,  and  Andrew  Stevenson, 
it  was  rejected  by  a  small  majority,  the  day  after  it  was  re- 
ported to  the  House.    The  truth  was  that  the  period  chosen 
for  pressing  it  upon  the  attention  of  Congress  was  unfavorable 
to  its  patient  consideration,  as  several  questions  of  the  most 
absorbing  interest  were  then  under  discussion.    That  the  im- 
portance  of  the  measure  was  not  exaggerated  by  its  supporters, 
is  evident  from  the  fact  that  the  French  Ambassador,  M.  Ser- 
rurier,  publicly  reproached  Mr.  D'Homergue  with  his  want  of 
patriotism  in  endeavoring  thus  to  forwrard  the  interests  of  the 
American  silk  manufacture  at  the  expense  of  those  of  his 
native  country — an  observation  which  ought  to  have  helped  the 
passage  of  the  bill. 

After  an  interval  of  six  years,  a  third  Committee  on  Agricul- 
ture, at  the  head  of  which  was  the  Hon.  J.  F.  Randolph,  of 
New  Jersey,  in  a  report  dated  the  20th  of  April,  1838,  expressed 
their  approbation  of  the  principles  of  the  bill,  as  suited  to  the 
time  when  it  was  proposed,  but  thought  it  at  present  useless, 
for  the  reasons  given  below.  They  express  themselves  in  the 
following  terms : 

"Thus  perished  the  first  important  measure  proposed  by  the 
nation  to  promote  the  production  of  silk  in  this  country  ;  a 
measure  which  the  Committee  believe,  with  the  lights  then  in 
existence,  was  wise,  prudent  and  important,  but  which  the  sub- 
sequent ingenuity  and  experience  of  our  countrymen  now  ren- 
der unnecessary  ;  believing  as  they  do,  that  the  recent  improve- 


RAW  AND  MANUFACTURED  SILKS. 


335 


ments  in  reeling  will  do  more  in  a  few  weeks  than  the  estab- 
lishment of  many  Normal  Schools  upon  the  old  plan  would  do 
in  many  years." — (Report,  p.  0.) 

In  another  part  of  the  same  report  it  is  said,  that — "  The 
dull,  tedious  method  of  reeling  by  hand — which  required  a  regu- 
lar apprenticeship  to  learn,  and  years  to  acquire  facility  in  the 
use  of — has  given  way  to  the  new  patent  reel,  by  which  a  per- 
son (even  a  child)  may  learn  in  a  few  hours  to  reel  with  great 
ease  and  expertness,  a  much  more  even  thread  than  by  the  old 
process." 

Subsequent  experience  has  demonstrated  the  fallacy  of  these 
anticipations.  Public  opinion  has  undergone  a  great  change 
respecting  the  employment  of  this  improved  reel,  and  it  is  now 
admitted  that  no  machinery  can  produce  the  effects  that  were 
pretended.  Our  readers  will  perceive,  from  the  following 
explanation,  that  there  are  physical  impossibilities  that  are 
opposed  to  its  adoption  : 

The  fibres  of  the  cocoon  are  as  fine  as  the  finest  human  hair, 
and  of  course  easily  broken.  They  are  not  of  the  same  degree 
of  fineness  through  the  whole  ball  ;  it  is  well  known  to  natural- 
ists that  there  are  three  layers  of  silk  in  the  cocoon ;  the  first  or 
uppermost  is  formed  of  the  best  and  strongest  silk,  the  insect 
being  then  in  full  vigor  and  strength;  after  two  or  three  daya 
he  becomes  fatigued  ;  his  silk  is  thinner  and  less  perfect ;  this 
forms  the  second  layer.  At  last,  as  he  draws  near  his  change 
into  a  chrysalis,  he  spins  a  still  thinner  silk,  which  generally 
falls  with  the  chrysalis  to  the  bottom  of  the  boiler,  and  some- 
times, in  the  best  cocoons,  is  entirely  reeled  off.  Good  reelers 
learn  to  distinguish  these  different  layers  by  the  sight,  and  by 
the  touch,  while  the  cocoons  are  immersed  in  a  basin  of  hot 
water;  and  in  some  filatures  where  the  best  raw  silk  is  to  be 
obtained,  these  different  layers  of  silk  are  separately  reeled, 
being  destined  for  different  kinds  of  manufactures.  This  is  only 
said  by  way  of  example.  There  are  a  number  of  other  details 
which  no  less  require  the  skill  and  dexterity  of  the  reeler, 
and  are  beyond  the  power  of  machinery.  As  the  perfection  of 
raw  silk  principally  depends  on  the  equality  of  the  threads, 
which,  must  be  of  an  equal  fineness  and  strength  through  their 


336 


THE  GREAT  EXHIBITION. 


whole  length,  that  the  weak  parts  may  not  be  broken  by  the 
equal  pressure  of  the  throwing  machine,  which  cannot  be  les- 
sened or  increased  at  pleasure,  it  is  necessary  that  those  threads 
should  consist  as  nearly  as  possible  of  an  equal  quantity  of  the 
delicate  fibres  of  the  cocoon.  But  the  cocoons  are  not  of  an 
equal  size,  and,  as  we  have  said  before,  the  fineness  of  their  silk 
varies  :  it  follows  that,  to  preserve  the  equality  of  the  thread, 
they  must  be  frequently  changed,  and  their  numbers  increased 
or  lessened  :  of  this  the  reeler  must  judge,  and  her  fingers  as 
well  as  her  eyes  direct  her  in  this  most  delicate  operation. 
Beside  this,  many  accidents  happen  in  reeling  which  she  must 
learn  how  to  remedy  with  dexterity  and  skill  ;  we  shall  only 
instance  those  entanglements  of  the  silk  threads  which  are  called 
marriages,  and  which  frequently  result  from  the  nature  of  the 
operation.  It  would  be  too  long  to  detail  here  all  that  has  to 
be  done  by  a  skillful  reeler,  but  enough  has  been  said  to  show 
that  no  machinery  whatever  can  supply  the  place  of  her  experi- 
enced hand,  and  that  she  is  not  in  the  least  aided  by  the  ma- 
chinery of  the  reel,  which  helps  only  to  wind  the  threads  which 
she  draws  from  the  cocoons,  nor  can  it  be  improved  to  any 
other  purpose. 

How  deeply  therefore  is  to  be  regretted  the  rejection  of  a 
project,  wThich,  by  establishing  a  normal  school  of  instruction, 
would  have  diffused  throughout  the  Union  a  knowlege  of  the 
only  true  principles  on  which  this  branch  of  industry  can  be 
profitably  carried  on,  and  which,  by  the  promotion  of  filatures, 
generally,  would  have  reduced  to  practical  demonstration  the 
soundness  of  those  principles.  The  Piedmontese  silk  owes  the 
reputation  it  has  so  long  enjoyed  to  the  uniformity  of  system 
which  would  have  been  thereby  secured,  and  which  is  enforced 
by  regulations  imposed  by  the  government.  The  proprietor  of 
a  silk  filature  in  Piedmont,  before  he  commences  the  business 
of  reeling,  is  obliged  to  announce  to  a  local  Board  of  Commis- 
sioners the  number  of  boilers  he  intends  to  use  and  the  thick- 
ness and  weight  of  the  silk  which  he  means  to  produce  in  the 
season.  A  smaller  quantity  than  five  hundred  pounds'  weight 
of  silk  is  not  allowed  to  be  reeled  in  a  single  filature.  The  vari- 
ous establishments  are  visited  during  the  season  of  reeling  by 


RAW  AND  MANUFACTURED  SILKS. 


837 


the  members  of  the  commission,  and,  should  any  person  be 
found  operating  upon  a  greater  or  lesser  number  of  cocoons 
than  he  has  previously  reported,  or  otherwise,  in  any  way  in- 
fringing the  regulations,  a  fine  is  imposed.  Nothing  of  this 
kind  exists  in  France,  and,  in  consequence,  there  is  found  an 
infinite  variety  in  the  size  of  the  reel  and  the  thickness  of  the 
silk. 

The  history  of  American  Legislation  with  reference  to  Silk 
would  of  itself  afford  material  for  an  interesting  article.  Let  it 
here  suffice  that  this  legislation  has  been  of  the  most  capricious 
and  mischievous  character — to-day  stimulating  the  Silk  culture 
by  generous  State  bounties  and  shielding  it  by  ample  duties  ; 
and  to-morrow  abolishing  the  former  and  reducing  the  latter  to 
the  lowest  revenue  standard.  Had  no  attempt  ever  been  made 
to  encourage  by  legislation  the  silk  culture,  it  would  very  pro- 
bably have  stood  stronger  and  w7orn  a  more  hopeful  aspect  than 
it  now  does ;  had  the  production  of  silk  enjoyed  a  protection  as 
steady  and  adequate  as  that  of  cotton  fabrics,  it  would  probably 
have  outgrown  ere  this  all  need  of  protection,  all  peril  of  fail- 
ure. But  it  must  be  borne  in  mind  that  the  production  of  silk 
is  everywhere  a  nice  and  critical  operation,  and  that  Italy  and 
France — now  the  chief  seats  in  Christendom  of  this  important 
industry  were,  for  many  centuries  since  the  Christian  era, 
dependent  on  China  and  India  for  their  silks. 

We  have  now  traced  what  we  believe  to  have  been  the  real 
causes  of  our  failures,  and  which  must  still  continue  to  operate 
against  our  progress  in  this  valuable  branch  of  industry  until 
something  like  system  and  uniformity  are  adopted.  Years 
must  elapse  before  vitality  and  prosperity  can  be  infused  into 
this  languishing  branch  of  production.  Some  idea  of  its  present 
"exhausted  condition  may  be  formed,  from  the  fact  that,  in  1840, 
the  whole  produce  of  the  Union  amounted  to  only  61,552  lbs. 
of  cocoons,  equal  to  about  4500  lbs.  of  Silk. 

A  large  proportion  of  the  raw  silk  imported  into  the  United 
States  (we  believe  as  much  as  two-thirds)  comes  from  China. 
It  is  generally  preferred  by  manufacturers  for  the  pure  white- 
ness of  its  color  and  the  strength  and  glossiness  of  its  fibre.  The 
remainder  is  brought  from  different  parts  of  Europe  (chiefly 


338 


THE  GREAT  EXHIBITION. 


Italy)  and  Bengal.  France  supplies  us  with  very  little  raw 
silk,  as  she  requires  all  she  produces  for  her  own  consumption. 
Most  of  the  Indian  and  Italian  silks  are  imported  through 
English  houses,  as  were  formerly  those  of  China.  The  silks 
brought  from  Canton  consist  of  two  leading  varieties,  known  in 
commerce  by  the  names  of  Canton  and  Nankin.  The  first, 
which  is  raised  in  the  province  from  which  it  derives  its  name, 
is  divided  into  five  sorts.  The  Nankin  silk  is  produced  in  the 
province  of  Kiangnan,  and  consists  of  two  kinds,  known  in  our 
market  under  the  names  of  Tsatlee  and  Taysaam.  The  duty 
on  raw  silk,  under  our  present  tariff,  is  fifteen  per  cent.,  but  if 
we  take  into  consideration  the  fact,  that  it  arrives  here  impreg- 
nated with  gum,  which  must  be  removed  before  the  silk  is 
manufactured,  it  is,  in  reality,  from  three  to  four  per  cent, 
higher.  The  Canton  and  Taysaam  silks  average  at  present,  in 
our  market,  about  five  dollars  and  twenty-five  cents,  the  pound, 
being  dearer  by  a  dollar,  than  they  were  twelve  months  since. 
Tsatlee  silk  usually  averages  twenty-five  cents  more,  the  quan- 
tity produced  being  small.  The  Bengal  silk  is  very  inferior  in 
quality  to  the  Chinese,  and  is  chiefly  used  in  the  manufacture 
of  fringes.  It  is  of  a  bright  yellow  tinge,  and  its  thread  is 
coarse  and  uneven.  The  same  objections  may  be  urged, 
although  in  a  less  degree,  against  some  of  the  Italian  silks. 
Some  good  white  silk  is,  however,  obtained  from  Milan  and 
Turin.  The  Italian  silks  are  imported  in  the  form  of  tram  and 
organzine,  and  range  in  price  from  nine  dollars  to  eleven  dol- 
lars the  pound. 

We  now  come  to  the  article  of  manufactured  silk,  or  in  other 
words,  raw  silk  converted  into  what  is  known  in  commerce 
under  the  terms  of  singles,  tram  and  organzine. 

Singles  (a  collective  noun)  is  formed  of  one  of  the  reeled 
threads  slightly  twisted  in  order  to  give  it  strength  and  firm- 
ness. 

Tram  consists  of  two  or  more  threads  thrown  just  sufficiently 
together  to  hold,  by  a  twist  of  from  one  to  one-and-a-half  turns 
to  the  inch. 

Organzine^  or  thrown  silk,  is  formed  of  two  or  more  singles, 


RAW  AND  MANUFACTURED  SILKS.  339 


according  to  the  thickness  required,  twisted  together  in  a  con- 
trary direction  to  that  of  the  singles,  of  which  it  is  composed. 

The  art  of  throwing  silk  was  originally  confined  to  Italy, 
where  it  was  kept  a  secret  for  a  long  time.  It  was  introduced 
into  England  in  the  reign  of  Elizabeth,  but  remained  in  a  very 
imperfect  state  until  the  year  1719,  when  a  patent  was  granted 
to  Sir  Thomas  Lambe  and  his  brother,  for  various  improve- 
ments effected  by  them  in  silk-throwing,  at  their  celebrated  silk 
mill  in  Derby.  Since  that  period,  the  progress  of  science  has 
enabled  the  manufacturer  to  dispense  with  the  clumsy  machinery 
employed  under  Lambe's  patent,  and  the  means  of  production 
have  been  multiplied  to  an  extent  that  would  have  been  deemed 
fabulous  in  those  days.  Our  American  throwsters  have  intro- 
duced some  valuable  modifications  on  the  English  machinery, 
which  have  had  the  effect  of  still  further  simplifying  the  process 
of  manufacture  and  diminishing  its  cost.  The  first  factory 
started  in  this  country  for  spinning  the  tram  and  organzine  was 
we  believe,  established  in  Northampton,  Mass.,  but  its  opera- 
tions were  for  some  time  carried  on  at  a  loss;  and  it  was  only 
when  it  commenced  the  manufacture  of  sewing-silks  that  an 
adequate  return  was  obtained  for  the  capital  invested.  Since 
then,  two  other  factories  of  a  similar  character  have  been  estab- 
lished in  Paterson,  N.  J.,  (Mr.  Ryle's  and  Mr.  Crossley's,) 
which  employ  a  great  number  of  hands  and  are  rapidly  extend- 
ing their  trade.  Mr.  Ryle  confines  himself  exclusively  to  the 
manufacture  of  the  raw  silk  ;  but  Mr.  Crossley  has  conjoined 
with  it  the  manufacture  of  sewing-silks,  gimps,  fringes,  and  tas- 
sels for  drapery.  Both  these  gentlemen  exhibit  specimens  of 
their  productions,  which  appear  to  us  fully  equal  in  quality  to 
any  of  the  goods  imported  into  our  market. 


340 


THE  GREAT  EXHIBITION. 


XXXIII. 

SILK  MANUFACTURES. 

SEWING,   FRINGE,    AND   EMBROIDERING  SILKS,    FRINGES,  GIMPS, 
TASSELS,    AND  BUTTON-SILKS. 

The  manufactures  comprised  under  the  above  heads  consti- 
tute thriving  branches  of  our  home  industry,  and  are  entitled 
to  a  separate  notice  at  our  hands.  Nearly  all  the  sewing-silk 
used  in  this  country,  including  the  black  silk  so  much  sought 
after  under  the  name  of  "  Italian  silk,"  is  now  made  by  Ameri- 
can manufacturers ;  and  we  question  if  the  quantity  imported 
amounts  to  five  per  cent,  of  the  home  production.  There  are 
a  great  many  manufacturers  scattered  throughout  the  Union, 
who  confine  themselves  exclusively  to  the  fabrication  of  this 
article.  The  Connecticut  establishments  make  in  general  what 
is  called  hundred,  or  small-skein  silk,  of  different  colors.  It  is 
so  termed  because  it  is  made  up  from  one  to  one-and-a-half 
ounce  of  silk  to  the  hundred,  measuring  about  ten  yards  in 
length  to  the  skein.  This  article  is  generally  sold  to  pedlars 
and  jobbers.  There  is  another  description  of  skein  made  up 
for  retailers,  which  measures  from  twelve  to  twenty  yards  in 
length.  It  is  principally  used  by  clothing-houses,  who  find  an 
economy  in  employing  the  larger  skeins.  Black  Italian  sewing- 
silk  fetches  about  $6  for  the  pound  of  twelve  ounces;  colored 
small  skeins,  $6  50  for  twelve  ounces;  large  skeins  of  ditto, 
from  $7  to  $7  50.  There  are  specimens  of  sewing-silks  from 
three  American  manufacturers  at  the  Exhibition — namely, 
Mr.  Ryle  and  Mr.  Charles  Crossley,  of  Paterson,  N.  J.,  and 
Mr.  Chaffe,  of  Mansfield,  Conn.  The  samples  shown  by  these 
gentlemen  are  remarkable  for  the  strength  and  evenness  of  the 
twist  and  the  purity  and  brilliancy  of  their  colors.  The  crim- 
sons and  scarlets  exhibited  by  Mr.  Crossley  are  especially 


SILK  MANUFACTURES. 


341 


deserving  of  commendation,  being  as  fine  specimens  of  those  dyes 
as  have  ever  fallen  under  our  observation.  Mr.  Crossley  con- 
fines himself  to  one  quality  of  sewing-silk,  but  Mr.  Kyle  manu- 
factures three  varieties,  which  are  called  for  by  the  general 
nature  of  his  trade.  The  latter  gentleman  also  exhibits  a  beau- 
tiful American  flag  made  of  the  tram  and  organzine  prepared 
in  his  establishment.  There  is  another  description  of  sewing- 
silk  known  under  the  name  of  fringe  silk,  which  is  made  of 
two  strands,  of  from  two  to  eight  threads  of  raw  silk  to  each 
strand  ;  each  skein  consisting  of  one  unbroken  thread,  and  weigh- 
ing from  one-half  to  three-quarters  of  an  ounce.  The  motive 
for  making  the  skein  in  one  thread,  is  to  prevent  the  delay  that 
would  arise  from  stopping  to  tie  the  short  lengths  in  weaving. 
Fringe  silk  is  sold  in  different  states.  In  the  gum,  the  average 
price  is  about  $6  50  per  pound.  In  what  is  called  the  boiled- 
off  state — that  is  to  say,  divested  of  the  gum — it  fetches  about 
$8  62.  Out  of  sixteen  ounces  in  the  gum,  not  more  than  twelve 
ounces  of  silk  are  obtained  in  the  boiled  state.  For  this  reason 
fringe  sewing-silk  consists  of  only  twelve  ounces  to  the  pound. 
Dyed  fringe-silk  fetches  on  the  average  about  $8  50  per  pound, 
and  black  about  $8.  Embroidery  silks  are  made  of  two  strands, 
of  from  six  to  twenty  threads  each,  the  same  as  plain  sewing- 
silk,  but  not  so  much  twTisted.  The  raw  material  employed  in 
this  branch  of  the  manufacture  is  the  best  that  can  be  procured. 
Embroidery  silk  is  sold  to  jobbers  at  an  average  price  of  from 
$7  to  $8  for  the  pound  consisting  of  twelve  ounces,  or  of  $9  for 
the  pound  of  sixteen  ounces. 

We  now  come  to  the  articles  employed  in  trimming  clothing 
and  drapery,  and  which  are  known  under  the  general  name  of 
Fringe.  Those  which  are  used  for  the  first  of  these  purposes, 
are  distinguished  as  sewing-silk  fringes,  while  the  articles  em- 
ployed by  upholsterers  are  designated  as  bullion  or  twisted 
fringes.  The  latter  are  only  partially  made  of  silk,  the  foun- 
dation being  generally  either  cotton  or  worsted.  They  are  all 
woven  in  the  loom,  the  hand-loom  being  employed  when  the 
pattern  is  unusually  difficult  or  wide,  and  the  power-loom  for 
the  general  run  of  fringes.  All  goods  with  figures,  such  as 
galloons,  or  fringes  with  figured  heads,  are  woven  on  looms 


342 


THE  GREAT  EXHIBITION. 


with  the  Jacquard  addition.  Without  this,  the  weaver  would 
have  to  use  a  great  many  treadles  for  making  the  figure.  Gimps, 
which  are  generally  made  by  hand,  sometimes  require  as  many 
as  twenty  treadles,  using  from  ten  to  twelve  shuttles.  When 
the  Jacquard  addition  is  employed,  the  number  of  cards  required 
to  form  a  single  pattern  frequently  amounts  to  several  thousand. 
The  prices  of  plain  and  figured  silk  fringes  range  from  six 
shillings  to  forty  dollars  the  dozen  yards. 

Tassels  are  all  made  by  hand.  There  are  different  descrip- 
tions of  this  article,  distinguished  as  cloak  and  dress  tassels, 
picture  and  drapery  tassels,  coach  tassels,  &c  The  cloak  and 
dress  tassels  are  generally  made  of  what  are  called  sewing-silk 
skirts.  Drapery  tassels  are  either  made  entirely  from  silk, 
or  from  a  mixture  of  silk  and  worsted.  Picture  and  coach 
tassels  are  also  made  from  the  latter  combination  of  material. 
The  covering  of  the  tassel-molds  is  generally  done  by  the 
needle;  the  bullion  or  cord-work  is  executed  by  machinery, 
The  molds  are  made  in  a  great  variety  of  forms,  in  order  to 
give  the  workman  room  to  exercise  his  fancy  in  the  construction 
of  the  patterns.  Each  piece  is  covered  separately,  and  there 
are  sometimes  as  many  as  150  of  them  in  a  single  tassel. 
Some  furniture  tassels  cost  as  high  as  $25  the  pair. 

It  is  only  within  the  last  dozen  years  that  the  manufacture 
of  fringes  and  tassels  has  been  commenced  in  this  country,  all 
the  trimmings  previously  used  being  imported  from  France 
and  England.  For  some  time  the  efforts  of  our  manufacturers 
were  confined  to  the  making  of  plain  fringes  and  tassels ;  but 
this  branch  of  industry  has  attained  such  rapid  development 
within  the  last  few  years  that  they  can  now  execute  any  descrip- 
tion of  pattern,  no  matter  how  complicated.  Even  the  designs 
are  got  up  here,  and  it  is  only  when  something  very  striking 
and  original  is  imported  that  they  think  of  copying.  The 
importation  of  fringes  and  tassels  is  still  large,  owing  to  the 
high  price  of  labor  in  this  country.  There  is  a  class  of  goods 
which  it  will  not  pay  to  make  here,  the  prices  at  which  they 
are  imported,  even  with  addition  of  the  duty,  being  lower  than 
we  can  produce  them  at. 

The  American  manufactures  of  which  we  are  now  speaking, 


SILK  MANUFACTURES. 


843 


are  distinguishable  from  the  European  goods  by  the  superior 
quality  of  the  stock  and  make.  The  French  aim  at  making  a 
showy  article  with  as  small  a  quantity  of  silk  as  possible. 
Their  goods  only  look  rich  and  fresh  when  they  are  new, 
whereas  the  American  articles  retain  their  qualities  for  a  long 
period. 

This  branch  of  industry  seems  to  be  one  of  the  most  lucra- 
tive and  thriving  of  our  infant  manufactures,  if  we  may  judge 
from  the  number  of  houses  that  are  already  engaged  in  it,  and 
the  rapidity  of  their  increase.  A  large  proportion  of  the  trade 
of  the  Union  is  done  by  the  New  York  makers,  who  possess 
greater  facilities  for  finding  skilled  hands,  as  also  perhaps  a 
greater  command  of  capital.  Of  fringes  and  tassels,  either 
made  entirely  of  silk,  or  of  silk  and  worsted,  we  have  ten  exhib- 
itors, namely  :  Messrs.  Tilt  &  Dexter,  Crossley,  Gurney  &  Co., 
Foo'te,  Henning  &  Staderman,  McFarlan,  Meiker  &  Maidhoff, 
of  New  York  ;  Mills  &  Carlock,  of  Bridgeport,  Conn.  ;  Klahre, 
Union  Hill,  Bergen  County,  N.  J.  ;  and  Plimptons,  Stephenson 
&  Co.,  Boston,  Mass. 

The  specimens  exhibited  by  these  gentlemen  are,  generally 
speaking,  of  superior  finish,  and  possess  considerable  merit  as 
regards  design.  Some  of  the  dress  and  cloak  trimmings,  for 
instance,  contrast  most  favorably  with  the  English  goods  of  the 
same  class,  and  deserve  to  rank  with  the  best  productions  of 
the  Paris  makers. 

There  are  about  one  thousand  hands  employed  in  this  branch 
of  the  silk  manufacture  in  New  York,  two-thirds  of  them  being 
females.  The  average  w^ages  of  the  spinners  and  weavers  is 
from  six  to  seven  dollars  a  week,  and  that  of  the  girls  engaged 
as  gimb-makers  from  three  to  four  dollars. 

The  manufacture  of  figured  cloth  for  the  coverings  of  buttons, 
constitutes  a  separate  branch  of  industry  in  itself,  and  is  confined 
to  a  few  establishments.  The  Italian  silk  is  generally  used  for 
this  purpose,  and  the  twist  is  prepared  on  a  machine,  called  the 
patent  spinner,  somewhat  similar  in  principle  to  the  rope- 
machine.  The  loom  employed  in  the  weaving  of  the  cloth  is  a 
modification  of  the  Jacquard  principle,  and  was  patented  a  few 
years  since  by  Mr.  Lightbody,  of  Jersey  City.    The  whole  of 


344 


THE  GREAT  EXHIBITION. 


the  frame-worK  is  of  cast-iron,  and  its  construction  is  so  simple 
that  a  weaver  accustomed  to  the  ordinary  hand-loom  can  work 
it  without  difficulty.  It  possesses  the  further  advantages  of 
rarely  getting  out  of  gear  and  occupying  but  little  space. 

The  only  houses  that  we  know  of  which  are  engaged  in  this 
branch  of  the  manufacture  are  those  of  Mr.  Schwietering,  of 
John-street,  and  Naugatuck,  Connecticut,  and  of  Mr.  Graves, 
of  Williamsburg,  Massachusetts.  The  former  has  about  twenty 
looms  at  work,  and  the  latter  about  ten.  The  hands  employed 
by  Mr.  Schwietering  are  nearly  all  Germans. 

These  establishments  do  not  put  the  buttons  together.  But- 
ton-making forms  a  distinct  branch  in  itself,  and  gives  employ- 
ment to  a  great  number  of  hands.  There  are  about  ten  makers 
in  the  Union,  the  greater  proportion  of  whom  are  located  in 
Connecticut  and  Massachusetts.  Almost  all  the  work  of  these 
establishments  is  done  by  females,  the  proportion  of  men 
employed  being  only  about  five  to  thirty.  The  larger  buttons 
are  made  by  hand,  and  the  smaller  descriptions  by  a  rotary 
machine,  worked  by  steam.  In*  a  factory  employing  five  men 
and  thirty  females,  from  six  to  seven  hundred  gross  of  buttons 
can  be  turned  out  daily.  The  iron  composing  what  is  called 
the  collett  of  the  button,  and  the  canvas  which  forms  the  tough 
or  padded  stem,  are  imported  from  England. 

Insignificant  as  this  article  may  appear  to  be,  it  is  worthy  of 
remark  that  it  has,  from  time  to  time,  occupied  a  good  deal  of 
the  attention  of  the  English  legislature,  which  not  only  passed 
statutes  to  regulate  the  way  in  which  it  was  to  be  made,  but  to 
impose  restrictions  on  the  fancy  of  the  wearer  as  to  the  form 
and  material  of  button  which  he  might  select !  The  4  Geo.  1 , 
c.  7,  directs  that  "  No  person  shall  make,  sell,  or  set  upon  any 
clothes  or  wearing  garments  whatsoever,  any  buttons  made  of 
cloth,  serge,  drugget,  camblet,  or  any  other  stuff  of  which 
clothes  or  wearing  garments  are  made,  or  any  buttons  made  of 
wood  only,  and  turned  in  imitation  of  other  buttons,  on  pain 
of  forfeiting  forty  shillings  per  dozen  for  all  such  buttons."  A 
subsequent  act  passed  in  the  same  reign  (7  Geo.  1,  c.  22)  directs 
that  "  No  tailor  shall  set  on  any  buttons  or  button-holes  of 
serge,  drugget,  &c,  under  penalty  of  forty  shillings  for  every 


SILK  MANUFACTURES. 


345 


dozen  of  buttons  or  button-holes  so  made  or  set  on."  And 
again,  that  "  No  person  shall  use  or  wear  on  any  clothes,  gar- 
ments, or  apparel  whatsoever,  except  velvet,  any  button  or  but- 
ton-holes made  of  or  bound  with  cloth,  surge,  drugget,  frieze, 
camblet,  or  other  stuffs  whereof  clothes  or  woollen  garments  are 
usually  made,  on  penalty  of  forfeiting  forty  shillings  per  dozen 
under  a  similar  penalty."  We  believe  these  absurd  enactments 
still  remain  unrepealed  on  the  English  statute-books,  but  it  is 
needless  to  say  that  they  have  long  since  fallen  into  disuse. 


15 


846 


THE  GREAT  EXHIBITION. 


XXXIV. 
COTTON. 

The  application  of  simple  natural  productions  to  the  manufac- 
ture of  articles  of  utility  and  ornament  suggests  an  inquiry  at 
once  attractive  and  important  to  every  student  of  natural  and  ex- 
perimental philosophy  ;  it  is  of  itself  replete  with  interest ;  but 
when  we  see  that  a  certain  plant  provides  for  its  future  propa- 
gation in  a  small  globe  or  capsule,  which  in  due  time  bursts  forth 
to  distribute  its  seeds,  and  at  the  same  time  exposes  to  view  a 
fleece  of  vegetable  wool  as  white  as  snow,  as  fine  almost  as  silk, 
and  as  soft  as  down  ;  that  this  same  vegetable  wool,  with  which 
was  made  the  garments  of  the  ancient  Arabs,  and  which  clothed 
the  immediate  disciples  of  Mahomet,  has  in  process  of  ages  become 
a  source  of  occupation  to  millions  of  our  race  ;  that  it  has  origi- 
nated a  system  of  cultivation,  manufacture,  trade  and  commerce, 
the  most  extensive  and  complex  ;  that  in  one  country  it  is  made  a 
plea  for  oppression  the  most  degrading  and  anomalous,  and  in 
another  the  great  vehicle  of  commercial  gambling  and  industrial 
exploitation  ;  that  it  is  closely  connected  with  the  domestic  pur- 
suits of  the  mothers  and  daughters  of  civilization ;  that  from  it 
are  made  the  first  dress  of  helpless  infancy,  the  most  essential 
covering  by  night  and  day  throughout  life,  and  in  many  instances 
the  mantle  of  death  ;  that  it  has  placed  the  essential  elements  of 
cleanliness  and  comfort  within  the  reach  of  the  masses  ;  that  from 
it,  in  many  instances,  are  formed  the  sails  which,  by  their  white- 
ness, distinguish  American  from  all  other  vessels  on  the  seas  and 
oceans  of  the  world,  and  in  every  port ;  that,  while  it  thus  forms 
articles  of  strength  and  usefulness,  it  is  also  wrought  into  the 
most  exquisite  and  delicate  laces  ;  that  when  it  has  served  its 
manifold  purposes  in  clothing  the  outward  man,  it  forms'" the  basis 
of  a  new  material  on  which  are  impressed  words  clothing  the 
living  thoughts  of  our  poets,  philosophers,  and  orators ;  that  it 


COTTON. 


341 


has  thus  brought  education,  light  and  truth  within  the  grasp  of 
countless  millions,  furnishing  not  only  vestments  for  the  body  but 
food  for  the  mind  ;  that  it  has,  in  a  variety  of  ways,  occupied 
this  conspicuous  part  in  human  history,  must  continue  to  exert  an 
increasing  influence  over  the  destinies  of  nations,  and  is  peculiarly 
connected  with  the  growth  in  wealth  and  fame,  in  influence, 
power  and  greatness  of  our  own  country  ; — when  these  and  the 
many  great  interests  involved  are  considered,  there  surely  is  no 
American  who  enjoys  his  daily  paper,  rendered  accessible  by  cot- 
ton, but  will  heartily  follow  us  while  we  trace  out  some  of  the 
facts  connected  with  this  valuable  plant,  and  some  of  the  princi- 
pal processes  by  which  it  is  made  to  contribute  such  important 
services  to  mankind. 

The  cotton  plant  belongs  to  the  genus  Gossypium  of  the  order 
Malvacece.  It  grows,  in  some  of  its  varieties,  in  India  and  China, 
and  appears  to  have  been,  in  early  times,  an  object  of  very  exten- 
sive cultivation  in  those  countries.  It  was  in  universal  use  in  all 
the  Eastern  nations,  long  before  the  Christian  era.  The  area 
whereon  cotton  has  been  found  exceeds,  to  some  extent,  the  tor- 
rid zone  in  breadth  ;  but  by  cultivation  it  has  been  extended  on 
the  one  hand  to  the  south  of  Europe,  and  to  Lowrer  Virginia  and 
even  Maryland  in  our  own  country  ;  whilst  on  the  other  it  is 
grown  as  far  south  as  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope  and  the  southern 
parts  of  Brazil. 

To  grow  cotton  to  perfection,  a  long  summer  o£  hot  weather  is 
absolutely  necessary ;  a  cold  winter  is  no  obstacle,  provided  it 
does  not  last  so  long  as  to  abbreviate  the  duration  of  summer. 
The  species  known  as  Gossypium  barbadense,  hirsutum,  and 
religiosum,  will  flourish  where  the  mean  annual  temperature  is 
from  68°  to  82°  ;  but  the  Gossypium  herbaceum  is  most  success- 
fully cultivated  where,  the  summer  heat  being  75°  or  73°,  that  of 
winter  is  not  less  than  46°  or  48°.  The  thermometer,  in  Upper 
Virginia,  is  sometimes  as  low  as  zero  of  Fahrenheit  in  winter, 
and  yet  cotton  is  grown  there  during  the  long  summers. 

Botanical  knowledge  of  this  plant  is  not  very  extensive, 
many  of  its  varieties  being  at  present  undefined.  The  "  Nan- 
keen  Cotton,"  Gossypium  reliyiosum,  was  introduced  at  an 
early  period  from  China ;  it  is  abundant  in  produce,  but  the 


348 


THE  GREAT  EXHIBITION. 


wool  is  of  a  dirty  yellow  color  and  of  low  price.  The  green- 
seed  cotton  is  quite  white,  and  it  grows  in  the  middle  and 
upland  districts,  and  is  called  upland  cotton,  and  sometimes  a 
short-staple  cotton,  or  bowed  Georgia  cotton.  Then  there  is  the 
Sea-Island  or  long-staple  cotton,  which  has  a  remarkably  black 
seed,  surrounded  by  a  fine,  white,  strong  and  silky  long  staple. 
This  is  grown  in  the  lower  parts. of  Georgia  and  South  Carolina, 
near  the  sea,  and  on  several  small  islands  near  the  coast.  It  is 
the  best  quality  of  cotton,  and  commands  at  all  times  a  high 
price.  The  Gossipium  herbaceum  and  its  varieties,  which  grow 
from  four  to  six  feet  in  height,  are  chiefly  grown  in  India,  and 
it  produces  a  short-staple,  white  wool.  The  species  chiefly 
cultivated  in  Jamaica  is  called  Gossipium  hirsutum^  is  shrubby 
and  grows  about  six  feet  in  height.  It  is  the  same  plant,  wTe 
believe,  which  is  known,  in  this  country  as  the  green-staple  or 
upland  cotton.  Gossipium  barbadense  is  shrubby,  grows  from 
six  to  fifteen  feet  in  height,  and  is  extensively  cultivated  in  the 
West  Indies  and  also  in  Egypt.  It  is  believed  that  the  number 
or  var  ieties  extend  to  nearly  one  hundred,  but  those  we  have 
enumerated  are  the  principal. 

It  is  a  peculiarity  of  cotton-seeds  grown  in  this  country,  to 
become  covered  with  a  kind  of  fur,  which  renders  them  difficult 
to  clean,  but  they  are  not  deteriorated  in  any  other  respect  by 
removal  from  China,  India,  or  the  West  India  Islands.  The 
Sea  Island  Cotton  has  been  known  to  survive  for  five  years  in 
Georgia  and  Carolina.  It  sometimes  grows  so  large  as  to 
assume  all  the  appearance  of  a  tree  ;  but,  when  this  is  the  case, 
its  blossoms  produce  pods  so  late  as  to  be  cut  off  by  the  frost 
.before  they  have  time  to  ripen. 

The  naturalization  of  the  most  valuable  species  of  the  Cotton 
plant,  that  known  as  the  Sea  Island  Cotton,  was  an  important 
era  in  the  history  of  this  country.  Fortunately  for  the  experi- 
ment, the  winters  of  1785  and  1786  were  mild  in  Georgia,  so 
that  the  frosts  did  not  penetrate  the  ground  sufficiently  to  de- 
stroy the  roots,  and  the  shoots  which  succeeded  the  first  year's 
somewhat  discouraging  attempt,  came  up  earlier,  and  arrived 
sooner  at  maturity ;  did  not  rise  so  high  ;  displayed  their  blos- 
soms fully,  and  more  speedily  formed  their  pods.    In  the  sue- 


COTTON. 


349 


ceeding  year,  the  fruit  ripened  in  good  time,  being  by  this  time 
more  acclimated.  The  hopes  that  America  would  become  an 
important  cotton-growing  country,  now  received  a  new  confirm- 
ation. The  credit  of  commencing  the  growth  of  cotton  in  this 
country  is  due  to  Georgia  and  North  Carolina,  which  persevered 
in  the  enterprise  unaided  by  their  own  government.  Labors 
destined  eventually  to  accomplish  so  much,  were  for  a  long- 
time placed  in  jeopardy  the  most  vexatious  and  harassing.  But 
indomitable  energy  requires  no  patronage,  and  is  frequently 
provoked  by  difficulties. 

It  was  upon  two  of  the  islands  on  the  coast  of  South  Carolina, 
on  a  soil  composed  of  a  mixture  of  sand,  decayed  vegetables, 
and  sea-shells,  forming  a  loam  of  peculiar  lightness  and  fertility, 
that  Sea  Island  Cotton  was  first  produced,  and,  being  separated 
from  the  continent  by  only  a  few  miles  of  salt  marsh,  the  suc- 
cess of  this  first  experiment  with  this  quality  of  cotton  was 
considered  as  conclusive  evidence  that  it  could  be  grown  on  the 
main -land.  In  addition  to  the  name  of  Josiah  Tatnall  may  be 
mentioned  that  of  Nicholas  Turnbull,  both  of  Skideway  Island, 
near  Savannah.  Their  cotemporaries  in  the  work  were  James 
Spalding  and  Alexander  Bissett,  of  St.  Simond's  Islands,  and 
Richard  Leake  upon  Jekyl  Island,  adjoining  St.  Simon's.  For 
many  years,  however,  the  growth  of  this  description  of  cotton 
was  confined  to  the  warm  high  lands  in  these  islands,  under 
the  influence  of  a  saline,  humid  atmosphere. ,  In  process  of 
time,  it  was  extended  to  the  lower  grounds,  and  to  the  shores 
of  the  continent;  and,  as  the  habits  of  the  piant  became  adapted 
to  the  circumstances  in  which  it  was  now.  grown,  its  successful 
cultivation  spread  even  to  the  coarse  clay  soil  deposited  by  the 
great  rivers  at  their  confluence  with  the  tides,  and  eventually  it 
has  been  made  to  grow  in  any  part  of  Georgia  and  South  Caro- 
lina where  there  is  a  saline  atmosphere — a  condition  essential 
to  its  growth.  It  is  still,  however,  in  the  district  between  St. 
Mary's  Georgia,  and  Georgetown,  South  Carolina,  extending 
about  fifteen  miles  inland,  that  the  finest  and  longest  staple  is 
produced. 

The  hand-method  of  sowing  is  usually  performed  by  three 
female  slaves ;  the  first  goes  before,  and  makes  the  d^ll  with 


350 


THE  GREAT  EXHIBITION. 


a  hoe;  the  most  intelligent  distributes  the  seed;  and  the  third 
walks  behind,  and  covers  it  up  with  her  foot,  pressing  the  soil 
close  to  the  seed,  so  as  to  keep  it  moist.  The  quantity  of  seed 
used  by  sensible  cultivators  is  about  one  bushel  to  the  acre. 
The  crop  is  very  precarious  during  its  early  stages  of  growth, 
and  it  not  unfrequently  happens  that  a  cold  wind,  or  a  visitation 
of  cockchafers  or  cutworms  in  April,  renders  a  second  sowing 
necessary.  In  six  successive  hoeings  the  weaker  plants  are 
destroyed,  leaving  from  six  to  twenty -four  inches  between  the 
plants,  according  to  the  size  of  the  variety,  the  rows  being  five 
feet  asunder.  Their  nourishment  is  principally  derived  from 
the  atmosphere,  which  is  absorbed  by  its  broad  leaves. 

By  the  20th  of  J uly,  all  operations  in  the  cultivation  of  the 
plant  are  at  an  end.  The  Sea  Island  district  is  generally  blessed 
with  temperate  weather  up  to  this  time.  Toward  the  end  of 
July  and  the  beginning  of  August,  clouds  usually  gather  on 
the  western  hills,  and  the  wTeather  becomes  changeable.  Rain, 
attended  by  lightning,  deluges  the  fields,  and  beats  down  the 
leaves  of  the  Cotton  Plant,  and  sometimes  causes  it  to  shed  its 
unripe  fruit.  At  the  full  moon  of  August,  the  caterpillar  makes 
its  appearance.  In  nine  or  ten  days  it  has  grown  so  large  as  to 
become  a  voracious  and  dangerous  enemy.  In  some  instances, 
hundreds  of  acres  of  flourishing  cotton  are  stripped  of  foliage 
and  fruit  in  a  few  hours,  by  this  visitation.  Once  in  about 
seven  years  the  ravages  of  this  destructive  insect  exercise  a 
considerable  influence  on  the  cotton  market. 

Beautiful  is  the  scene  of  a  cotton-field  which  has  escaped  the 
ravages  of  storms  and  insects :  viney  foliage,  with  blossoms 
of  three  brilliant  hues,  and  pods  of  darker  shades  in  various 
states  of  ripeness,  all  blended  together,  waving  in  graceful  forms 
to  the  gentle  breezes,  which  are  occasionally  wafted  across  them 
from  the  ocean.  On  the  first  day  of  its  opening,  the  blossom 
has  a  fine  yellow  tint,  which  the  mysterious  influences  of  a 
single  night  changes  to  a  crimson  hue,  which,  on  the  succeeding 
morn,  is  changed  into  a  chocolate  brown.  The  blossom  then 
alls  to  the  ground,  and  leaves  a  pod  half  an  inch  in  diameter. 
From  three  to  six  weeks,  according  to  the  season  and  variety, 
are  the**  required  to  mature  this  pod  or  fruit.    The  earliest 


COTTON. 


851 


pods  are  usually  ripe  at  the  beginning  of  August,  and  they 
denote  their  maturity  by  bursting  open.  Picking  the  cotton 
is  an  operation  which  continues  from  tliis  time  till  December. 
This  is  a  tedious  though  not  laborious  operation.  The  slaves 
are  expected  to  gather  about  twenty-five  pounds  a  day  each, 
when  the  weather  will  permit.  In  very  favorable  times,  as 
many  as  fifty  pounds  are  looked  for ;  but  in  the  latter  part  of 
the  season,  ten  pounds  a  day  becomes  a  single  slave's  work. 

The  average  produce  of  an  acre  of  cotton  is  about  one  hun- 
dred and  forty  pounds  of  white,  separated  from  seeds,  and 
twenty-eight  pounds  of  stained  or  discolored.  The  average 
value  of  the  produce  of  an  acre  of  land  to  the  planter,  is  about 
twenty-four  dollars;  a  very  small  amount,  certainly,  for  so 
precarious  a  crop. 

Although  it  is  difficult  to  estimate  precisely  the  amount  of 
capital  employed  in  the  Cotton  agriculture  of  this  country,  the 
following,  compiled  from  the  census  of  1840,  by  the  Hon.  Levi 
Woodbury,  is  believed  to  be  an  approximation  to  what  it  was 
at  that  time : 


1,200,000  slaves,  at  $500   •  $600,000,000 

4,500,000  acres  of  land,  at  $10   45,000,000 

14,000,000  acres  of  land  in  timber,  pasture,  &c,  at  $3    42,000,000 

6,300,000  acres  of  land  in  grain,  at  $10    63,000,000 

400,000  mules  and  horses,  at  $100    40,000,000 

4,500,000  hogs  and  sheep,  at  $1   4,500,000 

300,000  cattle,  at  $5   1,500,000 

500,000  plows,  at  $2    1,000,000 

Wagons,  and  other  plantation  implements.   1,000,000 


Total. 


,000,000 

The  following  statistics  will  show  the  gradual  increase  of  the 
Cotton  exportations  of  this  country  from  the  year  1790  to  the 
year  1851  : 


Years  ending  Value  of 

Sept.  30,  Cotton  Exports. 

1190   $42,285 

1795    2,250,000 

1800   5,000,000 

1805    9,445,500 

1810   15,108,000 

1815   17,529,000 

1820   22,308,667 


Years  ending  Value  of 

Sept.  30,  Cotton  Exports. 

1825   $36,846,649 

1830    29,674,883 

1835    64.661,577 

1840    63,870,307 

1845    51,739,643 

1850    71,984,616 

1851  112,315,317 


In  the  whole  of  this  period  of  sixty  years,  the  total  expor- 


S52 


THE  GREAT  EXHIBITION. 


tations  of  Cotton  amounted  to  one  thousand  seven  hundred  and 
eleven  million,  six  hundred  and  ninety-one  thousand,  six  hundred 
and  seventy-six  dollars.  This  is  exclusive  of  the  large  quantity 
consumed  by  our  home  manufacturers,  which  in  1850  was  valued 
at  $34,835,056. 

The  display  of  raw  or  merely  ginned  Cotton  in  the  Crystal 
Palace  is  not  equal  to  what  might  be  expected  in  a  country  where 
cotton  forms  so  important  a  feature  of  its  agriculture  and  commerce. 
We  cannot  find  more  than  ten  samples,  and  only  six  of  these  are 
mentioned  in  the  Catalogue.  Not  one  has  the  botanical  name  of 
the  plant  on  which  it  grew  attached  to  it,  and  only  two  or  three 
are  furnished  with,  the  provincial  name  by  which  it  is  known. 
This  is  probably  the  result  of  indifference  on  the  part  of  Southern 
planters  who  appear  to  pay  very  little  attention  to  the  sciences 
connected  with  their  pursuits,  and  to  care  still  less  for  the  encour- 
agement of  the  Crystal  Palace.  There  is  no  reason  why  .  these 
agricultural  productions  of  our  country  should  not  have  been  so 
arranged  as  to  afford  persons  who  have  little  opportunity  of  gain- 
ing practical  knowledge,  such  information  as  would  lead  to  a  sys- 
tematic view  of  cotton  growing.  If  the  Crystal  Palace  should 
become  a  permanent  institution  it  would  be  well  so  to  order  the 
articles  exhibited  as  to  make  them  instructive  to  the  masses.  If 
for  instance  samples  of  the  principal  varieties  of  Cotton,  with  the 
scientific  names  of  the  plants,  were  nicely  arranged  in  a  glass 
case,  as  much  information  could  be  obtained  by  a  few  minutes 
examination,  as  by  many  hours  study  and  research  with  books. 
This  would  be  a  much,  more  convenient  method  than  placing 
huge  bales  of  cotton  in  some  dark,  out  of  the  way  place,  under  a 
stall  used  for  an  entirely  different  purpose,  as  is  the  case  in  the 
present  instance.  It  is  impossible  to  view  the  cotton  in  such  a 
position,  so  as  to  judge  of  its^true  quality,  and  it  is  contrary  to  the 
rules  of  the  Palace  to  remove  an  article  from  where  it  is  placed. 
However,  notwithstanding  these  difficulties,  we  proceed  to  give 
our  opinion  of  the  samples  we  procured  by  the  permission  of  the 
Superintendent  of  the  Department. 

The  sample  of  Sea  Island  Cotton  produced  by  Mr.  William 
Seabrook  of  Charleston,  South  Carolina  is  unquestionably  the 
best  Cotton  in  the  Palace.    It  possesses  all  the  qualities  peculiar 


COTTON". 


353 


to  the  Sea  Island  Cotton  :  it  is  a  very  long  staple,  soft,  silky  and 
of  fine  fibre.  This  description  of  Cotton  is  generally  of  a  brown- 
ish color,  but  this  sample  of  Mr.  Seabrook  is  unusually  white. 
It  is  adapted  for  spinning  high  numbers  and  would  produce  the 
best  quality  of  any  fine  fabric. 

There  is  another,  sample  of  Sea  Island  Cotton  which  was 
grown  by  Mr.  Henry  Lawrence  of  New  Orleans.  It  is  good,  but 
appears  to  have  been  pulled  to  pieces  so  that  we  cannot  judge  of 
its  length  of  staple. 

Mr.  J.  Batchelor,  of  Rodney,  Mississippi,  has  sent  a  bale  of 
short  staple,  upland  cotton,  which  is  white,  but  not  particularly 
silky.  No  information  is  afforded  as  to  the  plant  on  which  it 
grew,  or  the  nature  of  the  soil  which  produced  it.  It  does  not 
appear  to  be  above  the  ordinary  quality  of  upland  cotton. 

Under  a  stall  devoted  to  the  exhibition  of  "  Hammel's  "  es- 
sence of  coffee,"  we  discovered  a  bale  of  cotton  very  firmly 
packed,  sent  by  the  Eagle  Cotton  Gin  Manufacturing  Co.,  Bridge- 
water,  Mass.  It  is  labelled  with  a  certificate  from  a  New 
Orleans  cotton  broker,  to  the  effect  that  in  point  of  color,  ginning, 
handling  and  staple,  it  was  the  best  specimen  of  short  staple  cot- 
ton brought  to  the  New  Orleans  market  that  season.  This 
sample  is  remarkably  well  cleaned,  and  does  credit  to  the  ma- 
chine by  which  it  was  ginned.  ■ 

There  is  a  sample  of  "  Golden  Cotton,"  produced  by  Dr. 
Samuel  Bond,  Green  Bottom,  Tennessee,  which  is  an  exceedingly 
fine  short-staple  cotton.  The  color,  also,  is  unexceptionable,  and 
is  creditable  to  Dr.  Bond's  experiments. 

There  is  also  a  sample  boll  of  Golden  Cotton  and  cotton  in  the 
seed,  (not  ginned)  from  Memphis,  Tennessee,  which  was  pro- 
duced by  Mr.  John  Pope.  It  feels  remarkably  well,  and  has  a 
very  fine  fibre.  With  the  samples  just  noticed,  it  speaks  well  for 
the  growth  of  cotton  in  the  State  of  Tennessee. 

Alabama  is  also  represented  by  a  sample  of  upland,  short- 
staple  Cotton  grown  by  Mr.  John  West,  Eufaula,  Alabama.  It 
is  a  very  fair  specimen,  and  is  well  'adapted  for  good  medium 
shirtings. 

There  is  a  bale  of  Cotton  sent  from  Warren  County,  Missis- 


S54 


THE  GREAT  EXHIBITION. 


sippi,  by  Mr.  Jefferson  Nailes,  which  weighs  four  hundred  and 
two  pounds.    It  is  a  very  fine  staple. 

Two  small  pink  boxes  contain  samples  of  very  fine  short  staple 
Cotton.  It  is  neither  labelled  nor  inserted  in  the  Catalogue.  It 
must  have  been  produced  on  very  poor  soil.  It  is  soft  and  silky, 
but  the  staple  is  as  short  as  that  of  thistle  down. 

There  is  exhibited  in  the  same  stall,  under  a  glass,  a  boll  of 
cotton  described  as  "  the  world's  wonder."  It  contains  fifteen 
locks,  "  the  like  of  which  was  never  before  seen  in  the  cotton 
world."  Mr.  G.  D.  Mitchel  concludes  his  description  by  say- 
ing, "  I  challenge  the  w-orld  to  produce  its  equal."  It  is  a  curi- 
osity in  its  way,  and  worth  examination.  We  could  not  feel 
the  quality  of  the  staple. 

Some  specimens  of  cotton  noticed  by  us  sometime  since 
deserve  to  be  referred  to  in  this  place.  The  seed  from  which 
this  cotton  was  grown  was  brought  from  among  the  Pino 
Indians  of  New  Mexico  by  an  officer  of  the  Mexican  Boundary 
Commission.  The  staple  is  fine  and  silky,  long,  strong,  and  is 
not  equalled  by  the  article  usually  grown.  The  plant  is  being 
introduced  into  Texas,  where  it  bids  fair  to  become  a  valuable 
addition  to  the  descriptions  of  cotton  already  cultivated.  It  is 
believed  that  the  plant  will  not  degenerate,  but  this  must 
depend  upon  the  nature  of  the  soil  where  it  is  grown.  The  spe- 
cimen here  exhibited  is  destitute  of  all  harsh  feeling  and  is 
beautifully  white  and  clear.  It  was  forwarded  for  exhibition  in 
the  Crystal  Palace  by  a  mercantile  house  of  San  Antonio, 
Texas. 

We  are  glad  to  see  that  the  cotton  see*d  is  being  applied  to  a 
useful,  and,  we  trust,  profitable  purpose.  Messrs.  William 
Wilber  &  Co.,  of  New  Orleans,  exhibit  samples  of  cotton  seed 
oil  which  is  remarkably  clear,  and  appear  to  be  of  a  color  simi- 
lar to  the  oil  of  linseed  though  rather  paler.  No  information 
is  given  as  to  whether  this  oil  is  found  adapted  for  mechanical 
purposes.  There  is  a  great  deal  of  oil  used  on  the  cotton  spin- 
dles in  the  spinning  of  cotton  ;  and  if  the  seeds  of  the  plant 
usually  wasted,  can  be  made  to  produce  an  oil  suitable  for  this 
purpose,  it  will  be  a  point  of  economy  worth  attending  to.  The 
same  manufacturers  exhibit  several  pieces  of  brown  soap  made 


COTTON. 


355 


from  cotton  seed  oil,  which  may  be  very  good,  but  having 
become  dry  and  shriveled,  it  does  not  look  well,  especially  now 
that  it  has  become  fashionable  to  mold  soap  into  so  many  fanci- 
ful forms  as  are  displayed  by  the  toilet  exhibitions  of  the  Crys- 
tal Palace. 

The  Exhibition  at  the  Crystal  Palace^  although  somewhat 
extensive,  does  not  display  anything  like  a  complete  assortment 
of  cotton  goods.  There  are  many  stores  in  the  city  where  a 
much  greater  variety  is  kept.  We  will  here  give  the  result  of 
our  observations  in  the  American  Department  on  the  Cottons 
and  Cotton  fabrics. 

The  Brown  and  Bleached  Shirtings  of  the  Goddard  Brothers, 
of  Providence,  R.  I.,  are  remarkably  fine,  being  120  slaie  and 
120  pick.  There  are  twelve  samples  very  handsomely  packed. 
Some  of  them  are  as  fine  as  140  slaie  and  140  pick.  We 
examined  them  carefully  under  a  glass,  and  the  thread  will 
compare  favorably  with  any  linen  twist,  and  when  powerfully 
magnified  still  appear  perfectly  even  and  regular  and  have  all 
the  lustre  of  fine  linen.  The  brown  goods  are  particularly 
worthy  of  remark.  They  are  120  slaie  and  120  pick,  and  are 
made  of  well  selected  cotton.  Every  packet  in  this  case  is 
worthy  of  special  examination.  They  are  packed  in  the  style 
of  linens,  book  fold,  and  in  this  respect  and  some  others  will 
compare  favorably  with  the  best  linen  goods. 

The  specimens  of  Brown  Sheetings  and  Osnaburgs,  as  well 
as  Cotton  Warp  Yarn,  exhibited  by  M.  Canfield  &  Co.,  are 
from  one  of  the  Southern  States,  and  are  interesting,  as  show- 
ing that  the  cotton-growing  States  are  making  an  effort  to 
manufacture  their  staple  at  home.  There  is  no  reason  why  the 
Southern  States  should  not  compete  with  the  Northern,  espe- 
cially in  these  heavy  goods,  except  it  be  that  the  curse  of  Slavery 
keeps  skillful  mechanics  from  going  to  live  there.  The  Seam- 
less Cotton  Bags  of  the  same  exhibitors  look  well,  but  are 
placed  out  of  reach,  so  that  we  could  not  examine  them. 

Messrs.  Fitch  &  Co.,  of  this  city,  display  samples  of  bleached, 
unbleached,  and  indigo  Blue  Dills  and  Sheetings,  from  the 
manufactory  of  Asa  Fitch,  Fitchville,  near  Bozrah,  Conn.  The 
bleached  and  unbleached  goods  are  not  well  manufactured  :  the 


356 


THE  GREAT  EXHIBITION. 


cotton  is  moaty,  being  filled  with  specks,  while  the  samples 
have  a  shop-worn  appearance.  The  dressed  goods  are  very 
coarse,  filled  up  with  starch,  and,  for  the  credit  of  the  manufac- 
turer and  agent,  ought  to  be  removed.  The  colored  drills  look 
better,  the  dye  rendering  the  specks  in  the  cotton  invisible. 
The  light  of  the  Palace,  however,  has  changed  their  appear- 
ance. 

The  specimens  of  Shirtings  and  Sheetings  from  the  Atlantic 
Cotton  Mills,  Lawrence,  Mass.,  are  sufficiently  good  to  sustain 
the  reputation  of  the  establishment,  but  are  not  equal  to  what 
they  can  produce,  the  pieces  selected  being  unusually  moaty. 
They  are,  however,  heavy  and  strong  fabrics. 

Messrs.  Parker,  Wilder  &  Co.  of  Boston,  exhibit  samples  of 
Monadnock  Bleached  Sheetings — the  12-4,  11-4  are  very  credit- 
able articles.  They  count  68  picks,  are  made  of  excellent 
thread,  good  staple,  and  are  of  a  very  even  appearance. 

The  Cotton  Sheetings  and  Shirtings  of  the  Masonville  Manu- 
facturing Company,  Providence,  R.  I.,  do  great  credit  to  Ameri- 
can industry.  The  motto  of  this  Company  is  "  Excelsior,"  and 
if  they  persevere  as  they  have  begun  they  will  soon  be  able  to 
take  the  premium  in  any  country  on  the  globe. 

The  Williamsville  Manufacturing  Company,  Providence,  R.  I., 
exhibit  some  cotton  goods  of  a  heavier  description,  which  are 
neatly  done  up,  but  the  glass  of  the  case  being  broken,  we  could 
not  examine  the  goods  without  the  danger  of  doing  mischief. 

Conestoga  Steam  Mills,  Lancaster,  Pa.,  are  well  represented. 
The  two-yard-wide  heavy  Brown  Sheeting  is  the  heaviest  we 
have  seen  anywhere.  It  is  made  of  yarn  No.  14,  count  50  by 
56.  These  are  admirably  adapted  for  the  purpose  for  which 
they  are  designed.  They  are  goods  which,  in  consequence  of 
the  weight  of  cotton  they  contain,  can  be  made  cheaper  in  this 
country  than  English  goods  of  the  same  quality  would  cost,  so 
that  they  are  never  imported  into  this  country,  and  we  depend 
entirely  upon  our  own  manufacturers  for  our  supply  of  these 
substantial  domestics.  The  Shirting  of  the  same  quality,  thirty- 
six  inches  wide,  is  admirably  adapted  for  laboring  men's  shirts. 
The  samples  of  fine  Jean  is  made  from  No.  30  yarn,  are  light, 
pretty  goods.    Their  Drill,  made  of  No.  14  yarn,  is  extra 


COTTON. 


357 


heavy,  and  very  strong.  The  samples  of  Bed-tick,  are  made 
of  No.  14  yarn,  are  heavy,  strong  goods.  The  herring-bone 
tick  is  very  nicely  woven,  and  both  the  broad  and  wide  stripe 
are  solid,  substantial  articles.  The  silk-bound  Cotton  Blankets 
are  beautiful  productions,  well  woven  and  well  carded. 

Messrs.  Merriam,  Brewer  &  Co.,  of  this  city,  exhibit,  from 
the  Amoskeag  Manufacturing  Co.,  Manchester,  N.  H.,  some 
very  sightly  Drills,  which  are  deserving  commendation.  Their 
Brown  Sheeting  is  the  best  we  have  seen  of  this  character,  being 
without  a  speck.  The  Cotton  Flannels  are  a  full  nap.  Their 
Denims  and  Ticks  are  such  as  to  well  sustain  the  reputation  of 
the  Company.  They  have  wisely  made  these  selections  from 
their  usual  productions.  •  This  company  deservedly  obtained 
prize  medals  at  the  Exhibition  in  London. 

Mr.  Thomas  Bennett  exhibits  in  a  glass  case  a  variety  of 
Bleached  Cottons,  which,  from  their  appearance,  we  should 
judge  to  be  fine,  well-finished  goods ;  but  being  locked  up,  we 
could  not  say  whether  their  fineness  was  put  on  in  the  dressing 
or  whether  it  was  genuine.  We  should  incline  to  believe,  how- 
ever, that  they  are  the  true  article.  They  are  manufactured  at 
Wamsutta  Mills,  New  Bedford,  Mass. 

Messrs.  J.  D.  Dudley  &  Co.,  of  this  city,  exhibit  some  seven- 
eighth  and  four-quarter  Brown  and  Bleached  Cottons,  made  of 
No.  28  or  30  yarn,  seventy  picks  or  threads  to  the  inch.  The 
four-quarter  goods  are  quite  heavy,  weighing  about  2,80.  They 
have  also  specimens  of  Jean,  which  are  well-rnanufactured 
goods,  and  do  credit  to  the  manufacturers,  the  Reading  Manu- 
facturing Company,  Pennsylvania. 

Mr.  Joseph  S.  Gladding,  of  Moosup,  Windham  Co.,  Connecti- 
cut, exhibits  various  samples  of  Brown  and  Bleached  Cottons, 
which  are  good  of  the  kind,  but  do  not  possess  any  novel  quali- 
ties. His  colored  Drills  are  of  a  light  shade,  streaky,  and  not 
at  all  creditable  productions. 

Messrs.  Mills  &  Co.  display  Brown  and  Bleached  Goods  of  a 
very  firm  and  sightly  description,  manufactured  by  the  Great 
Falls  Manufacturing  Co.,  Somersworth,  N.  H.  The  goods  are 
heavier  than  the  Hadley  Falls  productions.  The  bleaching  of 
the  Great  Falls  Co.  is  done  under  their  own  superintendence 


858 


THE  GREAT  EXHIBITION. 


and  they  have  succeeded  well  in  their  efforts  to  combine  this 
department  with  the  manufacturing.  Their  style  of  finishing 
and  doing  up  is  highly  creditable. 

There  is  a  bale  of  Cotton  Printing  Cloth  exhibited  by  G.  W. 
Chapin,  from  the  Saunders  Mills,  Grafton,  Mass.  It  is  a  fine, 
even  article,  and  well  adapted  for  the  purpose. 

There  are  some  good  specimens  of  Book  and  Formation 
Muslin  exhibited  by  the  executors  of  the  late  D.  M'Ewing, 
which  are  well  manufactured.  The  same  remark  will  apply  to 
the  narrow  crown  buckram  and  mosquito  nettings.  The  cotton 
twist  and  filling  are  well  spun. 

Messrs.  Mills  &  Co.  also  exhibit  a  book  of  patterns,  of  what 
they  call  "  Canada  Plaids,"  from  the  Whittenton  Mills,  Taun- 
ton, Mass.  They  consist  of  pantaloonery  or  cottonades,  in  imi- 
tation of  fancy  cassimeres.  The  patterns  are  neat  and  credit- 
able, but  are  all  made  to  contain  the  same  stripe  of  blue,  which, 
however  convenient  to  the  mechanical  operations  of  the  manu- 
facturer, conduce  in  no  way  to  the  credit  of  the  sample-book. 
The  imitation  of  cassimere,  however,  is  excellent,  and  although 
there  is  not  a  particle  of  wool  in  the  fabric,  our  impression,  on  first 
looking  at  the  patterns,  was,  that  they  belonged  to  the  woollen 
department.  We  should  like  to  know  how  these  goods  wear, 
because  the  application  of  cotton  to  the  manufacture  of  men's 
outside  garments  of  this  description  is  a  novel  and  interesting 
experiment. 

The  manufacturers  for  Messrs.  Mason  &  Lawrence,  Boston, 
deserve  great  credit  for  the  enterprise  and  ability  displayed  by 
them  in  the  production  of  Cocheco  Prints.  They  wisely  dis- 
play some  good  old  patterns,  such  as  are  always  in  demand, 
not  so  much,  perhaps,  for  their  beauty  as  for  their  neatness  and 
distinctness.  But,  beside  these  saleable  articles,  which  are  exe- 
cuted in  a  style  that  will  keep  them  high  in  the  estimation  of 
the  trade,  we  are  glad  to  see  some  successful  efforts  at  copying 
from  nature,  the  true  source  of  originality  in  designs.  The 
foliage  is  well  executed,  and  is  highly  creditable  to  their  artist, 
while  the  flowers  are  of  the  most  beautiful  description.  Among 
the  light  goods  we  observed  many  styles  which  would  compare 
favorably  with  the  best  productions  of  Hoyle,  who  has  been 


COTTON. 


359 


long  regarded  as  the  best  English  cotton-printer.  The  pink 
patterns  we  admire  exceedingly  ;  there  are  few  ladies  of  taste 
who  would  not  be  tempted  to  purchase  from  them  when  exhib- 
ited at  the  stores.  The  Sheetings,  Drills,  and  Cotton  Flannels 
of  the  same  Company  are  of  their  usual  character,  fully  sustain- 
ing their  well-earned  reputation. 

Messrs.  Charles  H.  Mills  &  Co.,  of  Boston,  Mass.,  display 
some  fine  printed  Lawns  and  Brilliants,  the  manufacture  of 
which  is  unexceptionable.  The  styles,  though  not  new,  are 
exceedingly  neat  and  chaste,  and,  being  madder  colors,  are  no 
doubt  permanent.  The  specimens  of  White  Cambrics,  Jaco- 
nets, and  brilliants,  are  novelties  to  American  manufacture  ;  and? 
although  there  are  none  of  a  very  fine  quality  among  them, 
they  do  much  credit  to  the  enterprise  of  the  manufacturers  at 
Hadley  Falls  Mills.  These  samples  demonstrate  an  important 
truth  in  the  history  of  cotton  manufacture  in  this  country,  viz  : 
that  in  this  department  of  manufacture,  in  which  England  so 
long  excelled,  America  has  made  a  successful  effort.  We  should 
like  to  see  the  Hadley  Falls  Mills  Company  bringing  out  some 
original  designs  in  their  own  excellent  workmanship,  and  we 
have  no  doubt  their  efforts  would  be  well  rewarded. 

The  Glasgow  Mills,  Springfield,  Mass.,  have  produced  a  large 
and  beautiful  assortment  of  Glasgow  Ginghams.  For  brilliancy 
of. style  and  color,  these  plaids  fully  equal  those  produced  in 
Scotland.  It  must  be  encouraging  to  the  proprietors  of  these 
mills  to  find  that  consumers  are  learning  to  appreciate  their 
goods,  which  are  rapidly  taking  the  place  of  Scotch  ginghams 
in  the  American  market.  The  samples  of  dyed  yarns  from 
these  mills  are  exceedingly  fine ;  the  colors  are  perfectly  clear, 
having  been  evidently  well  bleached  before  being  dyed.  We 
see  no  reason  why  our  American  spinners  need  fear  any  com- 
petition from  abroad  if  they  can  produce  yarn  like  this. 

M.  Canfield  &  Co.  exhibit  some  Furniture  Checks,  which  are 
old  fashioned  and  do  them  no  credit. 

The  Merrimac  Prints,  from  Lowell,  Mass.,  although  not 
novel  in  style,  are  neat,  chaste  goods,  such  as  are  in  constant 
demand. 

The  specimens  of  Calico  Prints  from  the  American  Print- 


360  THE  GREAT  EXHIBITION. 

Works,  Fall  River,  Mass.,  exhibit  much  taste,  in  glass  cases. 
They  consist  principally  of  spring  styles,  some  of  which  are 
new. 

Mr.  Robert  Rennie,  of  this  city,  exhibits  in  a  beautiful  cabi- 
net, constructed  of  American  wood,  some  very  pretty  Prints  ; 
many  of  the  styles  are  quite  novel.  Their  green,  pink,  blue, 
and  woad  colors  are  very  neat  imitations  of  lawn.  The  furni- 
ture print  is  a  fine,  bold  pattern  of  flowers,  with  a  landscape 
back-ground. 

Jacob  Dunnell  &  Co.  display  a  great  variety  of  specimens 
of  roller-printing  on  bareges,  calicoes,  lawns,  de  laines,  and 
silks,  which  merit  the  highest  praise.  The  case  being  closed, 
we  could  only  examine  the  patterns,  and  .can  say  nothing  as  to 
the  texture.  Their  designs  deserve  credit  for  many  beautiful 
new  patterns.  The  established  good  old  patterns  are  also  well 
executed. 

The  Goddard  Brothers,  of  Providence,  R.  I.,  have  manufac- 
tured colored  Silesias,  Nankeens,  and  Bleached  and  Brown 
Cottons,  wrhich  are  displayed  with  great  taste  in  a  glass  case. 
The  doing  up  is  unequalled  by  that  of  any  fabrics  we  have 
examined,  and  the  quality  of  the  goods  surpasses  anything  of 
the  kind  in  the  exhibition.  The  light-colored  Silesias  are  par- 
ticularly free  from  specks  and  admirably  finished.  There  are 
seven  samples  of  Silesias,  so  fine  as  to  count  one  hundred  and 
forty  picks.  The  two  qualities  of  Nankeens  are  excellent. 
One,  if  not  both,  we  should  judge  to  be  of  the  natural  color  of 
the  cotton,  which  is  well  selected. 

Messrs.  Malcolm  &  Hesketh  of  Manchester,  Paterson,  N.  J., 
have  manufactured  a  splendid  white  counterpane,  on  which  is 
worked  the  American  Eagle,  surrounded  with  baskets  of  flowers 
and  a  rich  border,  with  the  following  motto  worked  along  the 
foot :  "  Industry,  fostered  by  Freedom,  sends  Commerce,  her 
daughter,  over  all  the  world  to  gather  its  wealth  into  her  trea- 
sury;" 

The  Table  Covers  of  Messrs.  Malcolm  &  Hesketh,  Paterson, 
N.  J.,  are  worthy  of  special  attention,  as  exhibiting  a  new  fea- 
ture of  American  industry.  We  are  glad  to  find  so  successful  an 
attempt  at  introducing  this  branch  of  manufacture.    The  sam- 


COTTON. 


861 


pies  are  hung  very  high,  but  to  all  appearance  they  are  equal  to 
imported  goods,  both  for  color  and  style.  The  pattern  in  green 
and  drab  is  well  and  tastefully  arranged,  and  forms  appropriate 
designs  for  large  table-cloths.  The  blue,  scarlet  and  crimson  are 
in  good  colors. 

A.  Wortendyke  of  Godwinville,  near  Paterson,  N.  J.,  exhibits 
some  highly  creditable  specimens  of  Cotton  Wick  ;  counter-twist 
wick  for  patent  machine  molds,  and  chandlers'  wick.  These 
useful  articles  are  particularly  clear  and  free  from  cotton  moats, 
and  they  are  exhibited  in  excellent  style. 

Mr.  Nathan  Bumngton,  Fall  River,  Mass.  exhibits  in  two 
glass  cases  excellent  specimens  of  three-cord  spool  Sewing  Cotton. 
In  one  case  is  a  beautiful  pyramid  displaying  a  rich  variety  of 
colors.  We  should  think  .they  are  worthy  of  the  highest  praise, 
but  we  could  not  test  their  strength  nor  feel  their  quality,  owing 
to  their  being  in  inclosures. 

Messrs.  Brownell  &  Co.  also  exhibit  samples  of  Seine  Twine 
which  are  of  a  fine  twist,  and  well  spun. 

The  application  of  Cotton  to  the  manufacture  of  duck,  for  ship 
sails,  is  well  shown  by  some  admirable  specimens  exhibited  by 
the  Atlantic  Duck  Company,  East  Haddam,  Conn.  This  is  the 
heaviest  and  strongest  fabric  made  from  Cotton,  and  these  speci- 
mens are  exceedingly  even  and  well  woven.  The  duck  stamped 
"  G-oodberry"  does  not  compare  favorably  with  the  Atlantic  duck, 
but  is  placed  here,  we  presume,  to  illustrate  a  process  invented 
by  Messrs.  Taylor  &  Co.,  of  this  City,  to  prevent  it  from  mildew- 
ing or  rotting.  But  from  the  confused  arrangement,  or  rather 
want  of  arrangement  of  these  goods,  we  are  unable  to  say  which 
of  the  ducks  have  been  subjected  to  this  process,  which,  if  effec- 
tual, is  an  important  feature  in  the  manufacture  of  ship  sails. 

Mr.  George  Wm.  Wright,  of  this  city,  deserves  credit  for  the 
excellent  manner  in  which  he  has  exhibited  the  duck  of  the  Bos- 
ton Duck  Manufacturing  Company.  The  samples  are  placed  in 
a  large  book  or  portfolio,  and  are  in  a  form  well  adapted  for  ex- 
amination. Although  the  No.  1  of  these  samples  does  not  com- 
pare favorably  with  No.  1  of  the  Atlantic  Company,  still  the  ten 
qualities  exhibited  in  this  portfolio  are  adapted  to  meet  the  wants 

16 


362 


THE  GREAT  EXHIBITION. 


of  purchasers  with  regard  to  price.  These  goods  are  very  saleable 
productions. 

The  pyramid  in  a  lofty  glass  case,  surmounted  by  a  golden 
eagle,  forms  an  attractive  object  on  the  left-hand  side  from  the 
entrance  of  the  north  nave,  it  is  a  white  monument  to  Ameri- 
can Invention,  formed,  not  of  marble,  but  of  tightly-twisted 
Cotton  Rope.  This  last  novelty  in  Cotton  manufacture  is  the 
production  of  the  American  Cordage  Company,  whose  works 
are  in  Cherry  and  Water-streets,  New-York.  The  mode  of 
rope-making  adopted,  and  which  they  commenced  last  March, 
is  as  new  as  is  the  use  of  cotton  for  this  purpose.  A  machine 
is  made  to  answer  all  the  purposes  of  a  long  rope-walk.  The 
advantage  of  using  cotton  is,  that  it  is  capable  of  a  tighter  twist ; 
that  it  is  less  liable  to  injure  by  friction  than  hempen  cords. 
The  old  cotton  rope  will  be  worth  considerably  more  than  old 
hempen  rope.  The  rope  of  cotton  is  found  to  run  with  greater 
freedom  through  the  blocks,  and  is  altogether  more  pliable 
than  ordinary  ropes.  It  has  been  successfully  applied  to  rigging 
for  vessels;  to  hoisting-tackle;  bow,  stern,  and  tow-lines  for 
canal-boats;  fishermen's  lines,  &c.  The  description  of  cotton 
used,  is  a  long-staple  "Macon,  Georgia.5'  The  fibres  of  the 
cotton  are  laid  together  far  more  compactly,  and  with  more 
perfect  tension,  by  this  process,  than  by  any  other  made  known; 
consequently,  the  rope  possesses  greater  strength  than  when 
laid  in  the  ordinary  way.  It  is  lighter  than  Manilla,  so  that 
although  its  price  per  pound  is  a  few  cents  more  than  that  of 
Manilla  roping,  it  is  no  more  expensive,  when  regarded  accord- 
ing to  length,  while  it  is  believed  to  be  capable  of  lasting  three 
times  as  long.  The  Company  is  now  extending  its  manufactory, 
in  order  to  meet  the  increasing  demand  for  this  useful  article. 

In  consequence  of  the  darkness  of  some  portions  of  the  Ameri- 
can department,  several  particularly  deserving  articles  escaped 
our  attention  when  examining  the  Woollen  goods.  We  refer 
to  three  pieces  of  fine  cassimeres,  manufactured  by  the  Vassal- 
boro  Manufacturing  Company,  Maine,  from  Silesian  wool. 
They  are  so  fine  as  to  count  one  hundred  and  fifty  picks;  and 
it  was  impossible  to  distinguish  the  threads  after  scraping  off 
the  nap,  even  with  a  powerful  magnifying-glass.    One  piece 


COTTON. 


363 


is  olive,  and  one  a  beautiful  mulberry  color ;  both  dyes,  we 
are  assured,  are  fast.  The  mulberry  is  particular])-  good,  and, 
being  a  difficult  color  to  make  fast,  it  must  have  required  a 
series  of  experiments  to  produce  this  article  in  so  perfect  a 
condition.  The  other  piece  is  black,  soft  and  pliable,  with  a 
lasting  finish,  being  very  closely  sheared.  These  are  goods 
of  the  first  quality.  They  are  exhibited  by  Messrs.  F.  Skin- 
ner &  Co.,  of  this  city. 

There  is  also  a  fine  black  cassimere  exhibited  by  Messrs. 
Platner  &  Smith,  of  Lea,  Mass.,  which  deserves  to  be  men- 
tioned as  a  first-class  American  production ;  and  some  fancy 
cassimeres  from  this  firm  have  recently  been  placed  in  the 
Palace  by  Messrs.  Richards,  Cronkhite  &  Co.,  of  this  city,  (in 
the  place  of  some  we  disapproved  of,)  which  do  great  credit  to 
the  manufacturers,  being  equal,  and,  in  some  respects,  superior, 
to  imported  goods. 

Owing  to  a  card  being  misplaced,  the  beautiful  embroidered 
blankets  and  shawls,  of  which  we  spoke  so  highly,  were  attribu- 
ted to  the  wrong  manufacturer.  They  were  produced  at  the 
Bay-State  Mills,  Mass.  Now  that  they  are  displayed  more  at 
length,  we  find  the  blankets  are  full-sized  ones. 


364 


THE  GREAT  EXHIBITION. 


XXXV. 

IMPROVEMENTS  IN  THE  MACHINERY 
FOR  SILK  WEAVING. 

We  propose  in  the  present  article  to  attempt  a  brief  outline  of 
the  various  improvements  effected  in  the  machinery  employed  in 
the  weaving  of  Silk,  from  the  first  rude  apparatus  used  in  the 
production  of  textile  fabrics  generally,  down  to  the  delicate  and 
complicated  invention  of  Jacquard  and  its  subsequent  combina- 
tion with  mechanical  power.  There  is  perhaps  no  branch  of  in- 
dustry which  has  exercised  rrfore  of  the  higher  faculties  of  those 
engaged  in  it ;  and,  in  tracing  the  successive  steps  by  which  it 
has  arrived  at  the  extraordinary  results,  both  as  regards  beauty 
of  texture  and  increased  facilities  of  production,  which  it  now  pre- 
sents to  us,  we  are  lost  in  admiration  at  the  vast  amount  of  inge- 
nuity and  perseverance  that  have  been  brought  to  bear  upon  its 
development. 

That  the  art  of  weaving  was  known  at  an  early  period  to  the 
nations  of  the  East,  we  have  abundant  proofs  in  the  records  that 
have  descended  to  us.  In  the  hymns  of  the  Rig- Veda,  composed 
at  least  twelve  hundred  years  before  the  birth  of  Christ,  allusion 
is  made  to  "  weaver's  threads  ;"  and  in  the  Institutes  of  the 
Hindoo  law-giver,  Menu,  ft  is  directed  that  "  a  weaver  who  has 
received  ten  palas  of  cotton  thread,  shall  give  them  back,  in- 
creased to  eleven  by  the  rice-water,  and  the  like,  used  in  weav- 
ing." In  the  book  of  Esther,  chap.  i.  v.  6,  a  description  is  given 
of  the  draperies  in  the  Court  of  the  Persian  palace  at  Shushan, 
on  the  occasion  of  the  great  feast  given  by  Ahasuerus,  which  cor- 
responds closely  with  the  hangings  of  striped  cotton  cloth  used 
throughout  India  at  the  present  day,  and  known  under  the  name 
oi  purdahs. 

When  those  who  are  uninformed  on  the  subject  happen  to  take 
up  and  examine  any  of  the  lighter  fabrics  of  the  Indian  loom— 


MACHINERY  FOR  SILK-WEAVING. 


865 


those  delicate  tissues  which  have  been  so  happily  compared  to 
"  wets  of  woven  air" — they  are  naturally  led  to  the  conclusion 
that  the  machinery  by  which  such  perfect  results  are  attained 
must  bear  some  relation  in  its  completeness  to  the  quality  of  its 
productions.  It  will  no  doubt  surprise  them  when  they  are  toldt 
that  these  webs,  which  the  most  skillful  of  the  European  manu- 
facturers, aided  by  the  light  of  modern  science  and  the  mechani- 
cal improvements  to  which  it  has  given  birth,  have  never  been 
able  to  excel,  are  produced  by  looms  of  the  simplest  and  rudest 
formation,  differing  but  little  in  their  construction  from  the  primi- 
tive contrivances  employed  some  thousands  of  years  since.  The 
description  given  of  the  implements  used  by  the  Hindoo  weaver 
of  the  present  day,  and  of  the  manner  in  which  he  carries  on  his 
operations,  might  just  as  well  be  supposed  to  apply  to  the  in- 
fancy of  the  art,  when  the  laws  of  mechanics  were  imperfectly 
understood  and  no  better  models  were  within  his  reach.  His 
labors  are  performed  in  the  open  air,  under  the  shade  of  some  tree 
whose  foliage  is  sufficiently  thick  to  protect  him  from  the  scorch- 
ing rays  of  the  sun.  Here,  extending  the  threads  that  compose 
the  warp  of  his  intended  cloth  lengthwise,  between  two  bamboo 
rollers,  which  are  fastened  ■  to  the  turf  by  wooden  pins,  he  digs  a 
hole  in  the  earth  sufficiently  large  to  contain  his  legs  when  in  a 
sitting  posture  :  then  suspending  to  a  branch  of  a  tree  the  cords 
which  are  intended  to  cause  the  reciprocal  raising  and  depressing 
of  the  alternate  threads  of  his  warp,  he  fixes  underneath,  and 
connected  with  the  cords,  two  loops  into  which  inserting  the 
great  toe  of  either  foot,  he  is  ready  to  commence  his  operations. 
The  shuttle,  wherewith  he  causes  the  cross-threads  or  woof  to 
interlace  the  warp,  is,  in  form,  like  a  netting-needle,  and,  being 
somewhat  longer  than  the  breadth  of  the  warp,  is  made  to  per 
form  the  office  of  a  batten  by  striking  the  threads  of  the  wpof  o\ 
shoot  close  to  each  other. 

The  art  of  weaving  varies  but  little,  whatever  may  be  tho 
nature  of  the  material  which  is  to  be  used.  In  the  weaving  of 
silk  or  woollen  fabrics  the  difference  in  the  construction  of  the 
looms  lies  chiefly  on  the  greater  strength  and  weight  required  in 
the  machinery  employed  in  the  manufacture  of  the  latter. 

In  order  that  our  readers  may  be  enabled  to  appreciate  the 


866 


THE  GREAT  EXHIBITION. 


value  of  the  improvements  that  have  been  introduced  in  the 
machinery  of  weaving  within  the  last  century — a  period  that 
embraces  nearly  all  the  important  modifications  that  have  been 
effected  in  it — it  will  be  necessary  for  us  to  describe  the  process 
of  plain  weaving,  as  performed  by  what  is  called  the  single 
loom.  The  first  operation  consists  in  laying  the  requisite  num- 
ber of  threads  together  to  form  the  width  of  the  cloth.  This 
process  is  termed  warping.  Let  us  suppose,  by  way  of  illus- 
tration, the  width  of  the  intended  cloth  to  consist  of  one  thou- 
sand threads  ;  then  the  yarn  must  be  so  unwound  from  the 
bobbins,  and  so  distributed,  as  to  form  one  thousand  lengths, 
constituting,  when  laid  parallel,  the  warp  of  the  stuff,  or,  in 
other  words,  the  vertical  threads  attached  to  the  loom.  Before 
the  invention  of  the  warping-frame,  the  weaver  was  obliged  to 
draw  out  the  yarn  from  the  bobbins  at  full-length  in  an  open 
field — and  this  method  is  still  practiced  in  India  and  China. 
By  this  improvement  a  great  deal  of  labor  is  saved,  the  threads 
being  rapidly  arranged  by  means  of  a  frame  revolving  on  a  ver- 
tical axis.  They  are  then  taken  off  the  frame  and  wound  on  a 
stick  into  a  ball  previous  to  the  process  of  beaming,  or  winding 
them  on  the  beam  of  the  loom.  Great  care  is  required  in  laying 
them  as  evenly  as  possible  on  the  loom ;  for  this  purpose  a 
ravel  or  comb  is  used  to  separate  them  at  equal  distances  to 
the  intended  width  of  the  cloth.  The  warp-treads  are  then 
drawn,  or  attached  separately  to  a  certain  mechanism  of  the 
loom.  In  this  process  all  the  threads  are  attached  to  stays 
fixed  to  two  frames  called  heddles,  in  such  a  manner  that  all 
the  alternate  threads  can  be  drawn  up  or  down  by  one  heddle, 
and  all  the  rest  by  the  other.  There  are  three  movements 
attending  every  thread  of  weft  which  the  weaver  throws  across 
the  warp.  In  the  first  place,  he  presses  down  one  of  the  two 
treadles  by  which  one  of  the  two  heddles  is  depressed,  thereby 
forming  a  kind  of  opening  called  the  shed.  Into  this  shed,  at 
the  second  movement,  he  throws  the  shuttle  containing  the  weft* 
thread  with  sufficient  force  to  drive  it  across  the  whole  web. 
Then,  at  the  third  movement,  he  grasps  the  batten,  which  is  a 
kind  of  frame,  carrying  at  its  lower  edge  a  comb-like  piece, 
having  as  many  teeth  as  there  are  threads  in  the  warp,  and  with 


MACHINERY  FOR  SILK- WEAVING. 


367 


this  he  drives  up  the  thread  of  weft  close  to  those  previously 
thrown.  One  thread  of  weft  is  thus  completed,  and  the  weaver 
proceeds  to  throw  another  in  a  similar  way,  but  in  a  reverse 
order — that  is,  by  depressing  the  left  treadle  instead  of  the 
right,  and  by  throwing  the  shuttle  from  left  to  right  instead  of 
from  right  to  left.  In  the  commonest  mode  of  weaving,  the 
shuttle  is  thrown  by  both  hands  alternately;  but,  about  a 
century  ago,  a  person  named  Kay  invented  what  is  called  the 
fly-shuttle,  in  which  a  string  and  handle  are  so  placed  that  the 
weaver  can  work  the  shuttle  both  ways  with  one  hand.  In 
weaving  plain  silks,  calicoes,  and  other  webs  of  moderate 
width,  there  are  two  leaves  of  heddles  and  two  treadles  for 
dividing  the  warp  into  small  parcels. 

Figure-weaving  is  the  art  of  producing  various  patterns  in 
the  cloth,  either  by  the  introduction  of  threads  of  various  colors, 
or  by  a  different  arrangement  of  the  threads,  or  by  using  in  the 
same  fabric  threads  of  different  substances.  It  seems  to  have 
been  practiced  by  the  Egyptians  at  a  very  remote  period;  for 
we  find  mention  made  in  the  works  of  Herodotus  of  a  curious 
breast-plate  or  cuirass  covered  with  linen,  which  was  sent  by- 
King  Amasis  to  the  Lacedaemonians.  He  states  that  each  of 
its  apparently  slender  threads  was  composed  of  three  hundred 
filaments,  which,  under  a  careful  examination,  were  all  distinctly 
visible. 

The  improvements  introduced  of  late  years  into  this  orna- 
mental branch  of  the  art,  have  been  many  and  important;  but, 
previous  to  giving  any  description  of  these  improvements,  it  is 
necessary  to  explain  generally  the  more  simple,  although  more 
laborious  and  less  perfect,  means  whereby  the  weaver  was  for- 
merly enabled  to  produce  the  requsite  varieties  of  form  and 
color  from  his  loom. 

The  silks  known  as  shot-silks  are  produced  by  the  difference 
in  color  in  the  threads  composing  the  warp  and  the  weft.  A 
stripe  is  a  pattern  in  which  parallel  lines  run  either  along  or 
across  the  warp  ;  while  a  check  is  an  alternation  of  rectangles 
like  a  chess-board,  or,  more  strietly  speaking,  like  the  varieties 
known  as  Scotch  plaid.  The  production  of  a  stripe  depends 
either  upon  the  warper  or  the  weaver ;  the  production  of  a 


268 


THE  GREAT  EXHIBITION. 


check,  upon  both.  This  mode  of  ornamenting  textile  fabrics 
is  very  ancient,  as  may  be  seen  by  the  figures  in  Rosselini's 
"  Egypt,"  many  of  the  figures  in  which  are  attired  in  checkered 
cloths.  The  compartments  of  a  checked  pattern  are  sometimes 
formed  by  differently  colored  threads  and  sometimes  by  threads 
of  different  qualities.  In  the  twill  which  forms  the  web  of 
satins  and  bombazines,  the  weft-threads  pass  over  one  warp- 
thread  and  under  two,  over  one  and  under  three,  or  over  one 
and  under  eight  or  ten,  according  to  the  kind  of  twill  required ; 
the  effect  of  this  is  to  produce  a  kind  of  diagonal-ribbed  appear- 
ance either  on  the  right  or  the  wrong  side  of  the  cloth,  and  a 
smooth  and  glossy  surface  on  the  other,  according  as  the  one 
thread  is  crossed  above  or  below  by  the  wreft.  To  produce 
these  results,  more  than  two  leaves  or  heddles  are  required, 
and  more  than  two  treadles  to  work  them — and  the  weaver's 
loom  is  thereby  rendered  a  much  more  complicated  machine 
than  that  employed  in  plain  weaving. 

When  the  design  embraces  figures,  flowers,  or  patters  of  any 
other  kind,  different  means  must  be  resorted  to.  By  dividing 
the  warp  between  several  leaves  of  heddles,  which  can  be  de- 
pressed at  pleasure  by  separate  treadles,  threads  of  different 
colors  may  be  either  concealed  or  brought  out  on  the  surface 
of  the  cloth,  at  the  pleasure  of  the  weaver.  These  threads  may 
be  made  to  change  places,  one  with  the  other,  so  as  to  reveal  or 
conceal  each  in  such  a  way,  as  to  make  out  the  particular  pat- 
tern intended.  When  threads  of  different  colors  or  substance 
are  employed  in  forming  the  shoot,  the  shuttles  containing  such 
different  threads  must  be  substituted  as  often  as  is  required  by 
the  contemplated  change  of  pattern.  To  effect  this  substitution 
with  but  little  trouble  or  loss  of  time  to  the  weaver,  a  simple 
but  effectual  contrivance  is  used.  One  of  the  troughs  connected 
with  the  shuttle-race  is  made  in  two  parts,  thus :  The  box  form- 
ing part  of  the  trough  in  which  the  shuttle  is  placed  between 
the  warp  and  the  pecker  or  driver  can  be  easily  exchanged  for 
another  box  furnished  with  a  different  shuttle,  having  wound  on 
it  a  thread  of  the  kind  wanted.  In  order  to  facilitate  this 
exchange  of  the  shuttles,  the  movable  part  of  the  trough  is  sus- 
pended from  a  centre  of  motion  ;  therefore  the  box  on  its  cen- 


MACHINERY  FOR  SILK-WEAVING. 


869 


tre,  any  one  of  its  divisions  may  be  brought  opposite  the  driver 
so  as  exactly  to  coincide  with  it,  and  to  form  a  part  of  the  same 
trough  in  continuation  of  the  shuttle-race.  The  upright  bar  of 
the  shuttle-box  works  upon  a  curved  arm,  which  is  furnished 
with  pegs  or  catches  to  confine  the  bar  in  the  precise  position 
which  it  should  occupy.  If  more  than  three  different  colored 
threads  are  wanted  to  form  the  shoot,  there  may  then  be  two 
movable  boxes  for  the  shuttles,  one  being  placed  at  each  end  of 
the  shuttle-race. 

As  in  the  production  of  twilled  cloths  in  which  the  variety  of 
patterns  are  extensive,  it  was  found  that  a  greater  number  of 
heddles  was  required  than  one  man  could  possibly  manage  with 
his  feet,  it  was  sought  to  meet  this  difficulty  by  some  mechani- 
cal contrivance,  and  thus  obviate  the  necessity  of  employing  a 
second  person  at  the  loom  to  raise  the  heddles.  In  1807  an 
invention  was  patented  and  brought  into  use,  which  effectually 
answered  the  purpose,  and  which,  besides  the  economy  of  labor 
which  it  effected,  imparted  greater  precision  and  certainty  to 
the  operations  of  the  loom.  In  this  apparatus,  which  was  called 
a  draw  loom,  the  strings  were  so  arranged  that  a  boy  could 
draw  down  the  requisite  warp  threads  preparatory  to  the  move- 
ment of  the  shuttle.  As,  however,  even  this  improvement 
involved  some  practical  inconveniences,  such,  for  instance,  as 
obliging  the  weaver  to  quit  the  loom  from  time  10  time  in  order 
to  reset  it,  new  combinations  were  suggested  by  which  it  might 
be  rendered  more  automatic  in  its  action.  Of  these,  the  inven- 
tion called  the  draw-boy  was  the  best  adapted  to  the  end  pro- 
posed. It  not  only  superseded  the  necessity  of  employing  a 
boy  to  pull  the  handles,  but  removed,  by  the  unerring  certainty 
of  its  operation,  all  possible  chance  of  mistake  in  pulling  the 
wrong  handle.  The  same  object  wras  effected  in  a  different 
branch  of  manufacture,  (that  of  carpets,)  by  the  ingenious  inven- 
tion of  Mr.  Duncan,  in  which  the  threads  wrere  moved  by  pins 
inserted  in  a  rotating  barrel,  somewhat  similar  in  principle  to 
that  of  a  street-organ. 

We  now  arrive  at  an  era  in  the  history  of  the  manufacture, 
in  which  all  the  ingenious  ameliorations  we  have  been  describ- 
ing were  destined  to  give  place  to  a  new  combination  of  roa- 

16* 


870 


THE  GREAT  EXHIBITION. 


chin  cry  so  perfect  and  satisfactory  in  its  operation,  that,  in  the 
long  interval  that  has  elapsed  since  its  completion  by  the 
inventor,  but  little  has  in  reality  been  done  either  to  simplify 
or  to  add  to  it. 

It  was  in  the  year  1801,  at  the  second  National  Exposition  of 
Industrial  Products  held  in  the  Louvre,  that  the  name  of  Jac- 
quard  was  first  brought  prominently  before  the  European 
public  as  an  inventor.  His  attention  had  long  been  pre- 
viously directed  to  the  improvement  of  the  machinery  used 
in  figure-weaving,  but,  owing  to  the  part  which  he  took  in  the 
defence  of  Lyons  against  the  army  of  the  Convention,  having 
subjected  him  to  proscription,  his  labors  were  interrupted  for 
several  years,  and  it  was  not  until  the  period  just  mentioned 
that  he  succeeded  in  completing  the  first  of  the  beautiful  series 
of  inventions  that  have  effected  such  a  revolution  in  the  art. 
The  story  of  the  difficulties  that  beset  his  path  in  his  efforts  to 
carry  out  his  favorite  idea,  as  well  as  of  the  prejudice  and  oppo- 
sition which  he  had  to  encounter  in  his  endeavors  to  bring  his 
inventions  into  general  use,  has  been  too  often  told  to  need 
repetition  here.  It  is  consoling  to  the  admirers  of  his  genius  to 
reflect  that  he  lived  long  enough  to  overcome  those  obstacles, 
and  see  all  those  prejudices  vanish. 

It  would  occupy  too  much  of  our  space,  and  would  besides 
be  imperfectly  understood,  without  the  aid  of  drawings  and 
diagrams,  were  we  to  attempt  to  enter  into  a  detailed  descrip- 
tion of  the  admirable  invention  now  generally  known  under  the 
title  of  the  Jacquard  loom.  A  brief  explanation  of  its  main 
features  must  suffice.  In  plain  weaving,  the  weft  or  cross 
threads  pass  alternately  under  and  over  the  warp  threads, 
forming  a  perfectly  regular  interlacing;  but  in  pattern  or 
figure-weaving,  the  device  is  made  by  irregularities  in  these 
alternations ;  sometimes  two  or  more  threads  are  crossed  over 
at  one  time  without  any  intermediate  under-crossing.  When  the 
shuttle  with  the  weft  thread  has  to  be  thrown  from  edge  to 
edge  of  the  warp  or  web,  some  of  the  warp-threads  have  to  be 
lifted  up  to  allow  it  to  pass,  and  the  Jacquard  apparatus  assists 
in  this  elevation,  which  depends  (in  every  throw  of  the  shuttle) 
on  the  pattern  to  be  woven.    Numerous  cards  are  employed 


MACHINERY  FOR  SILK-WEAVING.  371 

(sometimes  as  many  as  five  hundred  for  a  complicated  pattern) 
formed  of  pasteboard  and  pierced  with  holes.  Every  card  has 
a  certain  relation  to  one  throw  of  the  weft  thread,  and  the 
number  and  arrangement  of  the  holes  determine  which  warp- 
threads  shall  be  drawn  up  to  let  the  wefc  pass.  The  cards  are 
linked  together  into  an  endless  chain,  which  is  passed  over  a 
hollow  box  at  the  top  of  the  loom.  The  chain  is  made  to  rotate 
slowly,  one  movement  for  every  weft-thread  thrown  ;  and  each 
card  in  turn  acts  upon  a  series  of  levers  by  which  the  warp- 
threads  are  raised  :  the  blank  part  of  each  card  acts  upon  the 
levers,  while  the  perforated  parts  allow  the  levers  to  pass  into 
the  holes  without  being  affected. 

In  a  modification  of  the  Jacquard  machine,  invented  by  Mr. 
Samuel  Dean,  of  Bethnal  Green,  London,  an  attempt  was  made 
to  dispense  with  the  card-slips  altogether,  by  adopting  the  use 
of  two  revolving  bars,  placed  on  opposite  sides  of  the  machine. 
Each  of  these  bars  has  eight  faces,  and  the  loom  is  actuated  by 
two  treadles.  The  variations  of  pattern  are  effected  by  tempo- 
rarily stopping  such  holes  in  the  revolving  bars  as  will  influence 
the  raising  of  those  threads  of  the  warp  upon  which  the  produc- 
tion of  the  patterns  depends.  It  was  found,  however,  that  this 
modification  could  only  be  applied  to  the  production  of  the 
simplest  patterns,  it  feeing  capable  of  employing  only  sixteen 
casts  of  the  shuttle  for  their  completion. 

In  1850,  another  ingenious  variation  of  the  Jacquard  princi- 
ple was  patented  in  England,  in  which  the  same  end  was 
sought  to  be  accomplished  by  making  the  designs  by  pins  on  a 
rotating  barrel  instead  of  by  holes  in  a  chain  of  cards.  It  does 
not  seem,  however,  to  have  been  received  with  favor  by  the 
manufacturers. 

Up  to  within  a  very  recent  period,  the  machinery  employed 
for  the  perforation  of  the  pattern  on  the  J acquard  cards  occu- 
pied the  labor  of  two  persons  ;  one  in  "reading  off"  the  pat- 
tern, as  it  is  termed,  and  the  other  in  arranging  the  punches. 
In  Mackenzie's  punching  machine,  which  was  patented  about 
four  years  ago,  an  improvement  has  been  effected  by  which  the 
person  who  reads  off  the  pattern  is  enabled  to  work  a  set  of 
keys  like  those  of  a  piano-forte,  each  of  which  inserts  a  punch 


372 


THE  GREAT  EXHIBITION. 


into  its  proper  place,  thus  dispensing  with  the  labor  of  a  second 
workman. 

At  the  London  Exhibition,  there  were  several  looms  shown, 
in  which  modifications  of  the  Jacquard  principle  were  more  or 
less  successfully  carried  out.  One  of  them  intended  for  figure- 
weaving  had  a  double  Jacquard  apparatus  attached,  one  on 
each  side  of  the  loom,  which  greatly  increased  the  facilities  for 
speed  of  production,  and  obtained  a  council  medal,  for  its 
inventor,  Mr.  Alfred  Barlow.  Another  Jacquard  loom  sent  in 
by  Messrs.  Campbell,  Harrison  and  Lloyd,  was  of  so  complex 
a  nature  that  no  less  than  ninety  shuttles  are  said  to  have  been 
used  in  it.  It  was  capable  of  producing  the  most  elaborate 
patterns  of  brocaded  silks.  The  weaving  apparatus  which 
attracted  the  most  attention,  was,  however,  the  fringe-loom  of 
the  Messrs.  Reed,  of  Derby,  if  loom  it  could  be  called,  for  it 
had  no  shuttle,  and  was  almost  noiseless  in  performing  its  beau- 
tiful movements.  By  this  machine,  from  twenty  to  thirty 
breadths  of  fringe  are  made  at  once,  and  as  many  different 
colors  either  of  weft  or  warp  can  be  introduced  in  one  loom. 
The  warp  threads  are  arranged  much  as  usual  in  breadths,  and 
each  weft  thread  is  passed  through  the  eye  of  a  needle  at  one 
side  of  each  breadth,  and  at  the  proper  time  is  laid  across  the 
warp  threads  and  tight  around  the  blade  of  a  knife,  which  is 
rather  narrow  and  not  very  sharp  at  this  part ;  the  reed  then 
closes  up  and  holds  the  thread  firm,  while  the  knife  is  drawn 
down,  and  the  point  being  much  wider  than  the  other  part  and 
quite  sharp,  cuts  the  outer  edge  of  the  fringe  and  then  rises 
again  ready  for  receiving  another  thread  around  it,  when  the 
same  process  is  repeated. 

Prize  medals  were  awarded  for  several  other  new  modifica- 
tions of  the  Jacquard  apparatus  for  loom  and  lace  machines,-  to 
Messrs.  Acklin,  in1  France  ;  Bornardel,  in  Prussia ;  and  Gam- 
bia, in  Lombardy. 

The  most  remarkable  improvement,  however,  on  the  Jac- 
quard loom,  which  has  been  suggested  for  our  consideration,  is 
that  which  has  been  announced  to  us  as  having  been  just 
effected  in  Italy  by  the  application  of  electricity  to  the  opera- 
tions of  the  weaver.    This  invention  professes  to  do  away  with 


MACHINERY  FOR  SILK- WEAVING. 


878 


the  use  of  complicated  mechanism,  of  pattern-cards,  and,  if  we 
understand  aright,  of  machinery  almost  altogether.  That  elec- 
tricity may  "be  rendered  an  important  agent  in  the  production 
of  the  pattern,  we  can  readily  imagine ;  but  that  it  will  effect 
all  that  is  promised  in  this  announcement,  we  may  reasonably 
doubt.  As,  however,  the  details  of  the  invention  are  not  as  yet 
before  us,  the  preliminary  steps  having  only  just  been  taken  to 
secure  the  patents,  it  would  be  unfair  to  raise  any  discussion  as 
to  the  principles  involved  in  it,  until  wTe  have  an  opportunity 
of  informing  ourselves  fully  as  to  their  merits. 

Having  taken  a  rapid  review  of  the  successive  improvements 
effected  in  the  construction  of  the  silk  loom,  it  now  only 
remains  for  us  to  consider  it  in  combination  with  mechanical 
power,  by  which  the  labor  of  the  hand  has  been  in  a  great 
degree  substituted,  and  the  facilities  of  production  largely 
increased. 

The  earliest  invention  of  a  loom  for  mechanical  weaving 
was,  we  believe,  that  of  a  Frenchman  named  De  Gennes,  who, 
in  1678,  constructed  a  rude  sort  of  weaving-machine,  intended 
to  increase  the  power  of  the  common  loom.  Toward  the  close 
of  the  same  century,  the  drawing  and  description  of  a  power- 
loom,  almost  identical  in  construction  with  the  celebrated 
invention  of  Dr.  Cartwright,  were  presented  to  the  Royal 
Society  of  London,  but  there  is  every  reason  to  believe  that 
this  gentleman  was  wholly  unacquainted  with  the  fact  of  their 
existence  until  after  he  published  the  details  of  his  discovery 
to  the  world.  His  attention  had  been  directed  to  the  subject 
by  circumstances  purely  accidental,  which  occurred  during  a 
visit  to  Matlock  in  1784 ;  and,  although  entirely  unacquainted 
at  the  time  with  the  commonest  processes  used  in  weaving,  by 
the  April  of  the  following  year  he  succeeded  in  producing  his 
first  power-loom,  which,  though  an  extremely  rude  machine, 
soon  received  many  valuable  improvements.  Owing  to  the 
prejudices  of  both  manufacturers  and  workmen,  great  diffi- 
culties attended  its  first  introduction,  and  a  mill  containing 
about  five  hundred  of  his  looms  was  fired  by  incendiaries,  and 
burnt  to  the  ground.  Undiscouraged  by  this  misfortune,  he 
devoted  himself  zealously  to  the  improvement  of  his  invention, 


374 


THE  GREAT  EXHIBITION. 


and  expended  his  whole  fortune  in  perfecting  it ;  but  it  was  not 
until  the  year  1798  that  it  forced  its  way  into  general  use. 
One  cause  of  the  delay  in  its  adoption  was  the  inconvenience 
which  attended  it  in  stopping  the  machinery  frequently,  in 
order  to  dress  the  warp  with  paste  or  size  as  it  unrolled  from 
the  beam,  which  operation  required  a  man  to  be  employed  for 
each  loom,  so  that  there  was  little  or  no  economy  of  expense. 
Successive  inventions,  however,  at  length  overcame  this  diffi- 
culty, and  power-weaving  was  brought  to  its  present  high  state 
of  efficiency. 

The  power-loom  was  at  first  confined  to  the  fabrication  of 
cotton  and  woollen  stuffs,  it  being  for  a  long  time  the  opinion 
of  practical  men  that  it  could  not  be  applied  to  such  a  delicate 
texture  as  silk  without  impairing  its  beauty  and  lessening  its 
value.  This  notion,  although  to  some  extent  well  founded  at 
the  period  to  which  we  refer,  has  since,  by  the  aid  of  some  valu- 
able improvements  in  machinery,  been  shown  to  be  almost 
altogether  fallacious.  Power-looms  are  now  applied  in  Eu- 
rope to  the  production  of  both  plain  silks  and  ribands ;  and 
in  this  country,  in  combination  writh  the  Jacquard  apparatus, 
even  to  the  manufacture  of  rich  figured  goods,  as  we  shall  have 
occasion  to  show  when  we  come  to  speak  of  the  splendid 
results  achieved  in  this  branch  by  the  Eagle  Manufacturing 
Company  of  Connecticut.  The  details  of  this  noble  enterprise 
— the  first  of  the  kind  that  has  ever  been  successfully  carried 
out  in  this  country — are  so  interesting  in  their  industrial  bear- 
ings, and  so  gratifying  to  our  feelings  of  national  pride  as 
Americans,  that  we  propose  to  devote  a  special  chapter  to 
them. 


SILK  MANUFACTURES. 


375 


XXXVI. 

SILK  MANUFACTURES. 

FIGURE-WEAVING  BY  AMERICAN  POWER-LOOMS  BROCATELLES  AND 

BROCADES. 

Had  the  Exhibition  of  1853  been  anticipated  by  a  couple  of 
years,  of  how  much  of  its  interest  it  would  have  been  divested  ! 
Within  that  brief  space  of  time  we  have  seen  some  of  its  most 
attractive  features  either  spring  into  the  germs  of  a  valuable 
discovery,  or  grow  into  the  full  development  of  a  manufacture. 
Among  the  many  fortuitous  circumstances  that  favored  its 
opening  at  this  particular  conjuncture,  we  look  upon  the  oppor- 
tunity afforded  it  of  exhibiting  the  first  specimens  of  complicated 
figure-weaving  by  American  power-looms,  as  about  one  of  the 
most  important  and  eventful.  Here,  for  the  first  time  in  the 
history  of  this  difficult  branch  of  industry,  we  were  able  to  show 
that  we  had  got  the  start  of  the  European  manufacturers,  and 
that  their  monopoly  of  our  markets  in  figured  silk  goods  was 
at  length  at  an  end. 

If  our  readers  have  not  as  yet  inspected  the  brocatelles  of 
the  Eagle  Manufacturing  Company,  the  silks  to  which  we  allude, 
they  can  hardly  appreciate  the  full  extent  of  the  advantages 
likely  to  be  derived  from  the  improvements  introduced  by 
them.  They  would  at  once  feel  satisfied  on  beholding  them, 
that  the  means  which  had  sufficed  to  accomplish  such  admi- 
rable results,  were  adequate  to  the  manufacture  of  the  most 
difficult  fabrics — always  excepting,  of  course,  those  textures 
in  the  composition  of  which  metallic  threads  are  employed. 
As  the  history  of  every  successful  experiment  of  this  sort  is 
fraught  with  instruction  to  those  who  are  engaged  in  industrial 
pursuits,  and  indeed  to  all  who  take  an  interest  in  the  progress 
of  our  manufactures,  we  purpose  in  the  present  article  to  give 


876 


THE  GREAT  EXHIBITION. 


a  brief  account  of  this  establishment,  as  well  as  of  one  or  two 
others  which  have  recently  commenced  operations  in  different 
branches  of  the  same  industry. 

The  Silk-Works  of  the  Eagle  Manufacturing  Company  are 
situated  at  Seymour,  Conn.,  (formerly  called  Humphreysville, 
after  General  Humphreys,  who  erected  the  first  woollen  manu- 
factory established  in  New-England,  and  introduced,  we  believe, 
the  first  merino  sheep  imported  into  this  country.)  Seymour 
is  the  seat  of  a  number  of  other  valuable  branches  of  industry  ; 
and  its  population,  which  is  in  a  great  measure  dependent  upon 
them,  has  been  increasing  rapidly  within  the  last  few  years. 
Of  these  establishments,  the  Humphreysville  Copper  Company, 
the  Humphreysville  Tool  and  Hardware  Manufacturing  Com- 
pany, and  the  American  Car  Company,  alone  represent  a  capi- 
tal of  more  than  half  a  million  of  dollars. 

The  Eagle  Factory  is  built  on  the  verge  of  what  are  called 
the  Falls  of  the  Naugatuck  River,  which  is  here  exceedingly 
picturesque,  its  waters  winding  between  precipitous  banks,  upon 
whose  sides  the  town  is  built.  The  Naugatuck  furnishes  water- 
power  to  a  number  of  other  important  manufactories  situated 
at  Wolcotville,  Plymouth,  Waterbury.  Naugatuck,  Ansonia, 
and  Birmingham. 

The  Eagle  Company  was  organized  under  the  general  law 
of  the  State  for  regulating  joint  companies,  in  July,  1851.  The 
capital  stock  is  $100,000,  divided  into  shares  of  $25,  the  whole 
of  which  are  now  in  the  hands  of  about  a  dozen  shareholders. 
The  buildings  and  machinery  were  all  constructed  under  the 
direction  of  Mr.  Humeston,  the  present  Superintendent  of  the 
works — a  gentleman  who  had  long  been  previously  engaged 
in  the  manufacture  of  silk  goods  at  New-Haven,  Conn.,  and 
with  whom  the  first  idea  of  the  enterprise  originated.  The 
operations  of  the  firm  to  which  he  belonged,  had  been,  up  to 
this  period,  confined  to  the  fabrication  of  various  figured  silk 
goods,  such  as  ribbons,  galloons,  and  fringes ;  but  Mr.  Hume- 
ston's  attention  having  been  directed  to  the  ingenious  modifi- 
cations of  the  Jacquard  loom,  which  had  been  patented  and 
successfully  introduced  in  the  manufacture  of  carpets  by  Mr. 
E.  B.  Bigelow,  of  Boston,  it  struck  him  that  the  same  improve- 


SILK  MANUFACTURES. 


merits  might  be  advantageously  applied  to  the  execution  of 
complicated  patterns  on  broad  silks.  It  should  be  stated,  that 
previous  to  the  conception  of  Mr.  Humeston's  plans,  number- 
less efforts  had  been  made  in  Europe,  and  fortunes  wasted,  in 
abortive  attempts  to  adapt  the  various  improvements  in  power- 
looms  to  the  production  of  these  patterns ;  but  they  had  only 
succeeded  in  the  narrow  and  simple  fabrics.  Sanguine  as  to 
the  results  of  his  scheme,  Mr.  Humeston  went  to  Boston,  and 
explained  his  ideas  to  Mr.  Bigelow,  who  entered  warmly  into 
them,  and  told  him  that  if  a  company  could  be  formed  to  carry 
them  out,  he  would  sell  them  the  exclusive  right  to  use  his 
improvements  for  this  branch  of  manufacture.  Being  a  man 
of  energy  and  capacity,  and  being,  moreover,  zealously  seconded 
by  the  personal  exertions  and  influence  of  Mr.  Bigelow,  Mr. 
Humeston  was  not  long  in  assembling  the  elements  necessary 
to  the  realization  of  his  plans.  The  company  was  formed  with- 
out difficulty,  and  the  site  above  described  having  been  selected, 
the  works  were  commenced,  and  pushed  forward  with  such 
rapidity,  that  they  were  ready  to  commence  operations  in  the 
spring  of  the  following  year. 

Although  the  new  Jacquard  power-looms  constructed  by 
Mr.  Humeston  are  applicable  to  the  production  of  every 
description  of  figured  silk,  it  was  resolved  by  the  Company  to 
confine  themselves  for  the  present  to  the  manufacture  of  those 
articles  in  which  they  might  hope  to  compete  successfully  with 
the  foreigner.  The  heavy  duty  levied  in  this  country  on  the 
importation  of  raw  silk — a  burden  from  which  the  French  and 
English  manufacturers  are  exempt — naturally  indicated  the 
policy  of  their  selecting  the  most  difficult  and  expensive  fabrics, 
in  which  the  disadvantage  of  the  cost  of  the  raw  material  would 
be  counterbalanced  by  the  superior  rapidity  of  the  new  process 
of  manufacture  as  contrasted  with  the  tedious  operations  of  the 
old  hand-loom  used  by  the  Lyons  weaver.  They  therefore 
determined  to  commence  with  those  rich  stuffs  which  have 
become  so  fashionable  as  the  materials  for  furniture,  draperies, 
and  carriage-linings,  and  which  are  known  under  the  names  of 
Brocatelles  and  Cotolines.  Brocatelle  is  a  mixed  and  compli- 
cated fabric  composed  of  silk  and  cotton  or  linen,  with  large 


Z18 


THE  GREAT  EXHIBITION. 


damask  figures  on  a  bright  twilled  or  brocade  ground.  The 
cotton  or  linen  is  thrown  into  the  back  of  the  cloth  to  give  it 
substance  and  durability.  The  brocatelle  of  the  present  day  is 
in  fact  nothing  more  than  a  harmonious  combination  of  the  ori- 
ginal damask  with  the  varieties  of  figured  weaving  discovered 
of  late  years.  It  is  merely  an  improvement  on  the  cafard  or 
counterfeit  damask  formerly  manufactured  by  the  French,  in 
which  the  warp  was  composed  of  silk  and  the  shoot  of  thread, 
wool,  cotton,  or  hair.  Cotolines  belong  to  the  same  class  of 
goods,  the  only  difference  in  them  being  their  heavier  substance 
and  the  cording  of  the  ground  on  which  the  figures  are  brought 
out. 

The  buildings  of  the  factory  consist  of  a  main  edifice  four 
stories  in  height  and  about  one  hundred  feet  long  by  fifty  wide, 
substantially  built  in  brick,  with  several  smaller  erections 
devoted  to  the  different  operations  of  bleaching  and  dyeing. 
The  first  story  has  an  elevation  of  about  fifteen  feet,  the  Jacquard 
apparatus  requiring  fully  this  height,  and  here  the  process  of 
weaving  is  carried  on.  The  second  and  third  stories  are  appro- 
priated to  the  winding  of  the  silk,  the  punching  of  the  pattern- 
cards,  the  preparation  of  the  warps  and  the  dressing  of  the 
goods.  The  building  is  heated  by  steam  pipes,  no  fires  being 
allowed  on  this  part  of  the  premises. 

Although  the  Company  has  been  formed  nearly  three  years, 
it  is  only  within  the  last  twelve  months  that  they  have  been 
able  to  introduce  their  fabrics  into  the  market.  This  delay 
was  occasioned  by  several  causes.  Besides  the  difficulties 
attending  the  adaptation  of  the  Jacquard  apparatus  to  water- 
power,  wrhich  formed  the  main  feature  of  the  plan,  an  unex- 
pected obstacle  was  encountered  in  the  tediousness  of  the  pro- 
cess by  which  the  larger  designs  were  executed  in  the  pattern- 
cards.  This  occasioned  such  an  expenditure  of  time  and  labor 
that  it  impeded  greatly  the  operations  of  the  manufacture,  and 
added  so  much  to  their  cost  as  to  threaten  to  defeat  the  calcu- 
lations on  which  the  enterprise  was  based.  Mr.  Humeston 
applied  himself  at  once  to  the  discovery  of  some  mechanical 
arrangement  by  which  the  process  might  be  expedited,  and 
after  some  months  labor  he  succeeded  in  perfecting  a  machine 
which  performs  at  one  operation  all  the  manipulations  that 


SILK  MANUFACTURES. 


379 


were  hitherto  effected  in  four.  This  machine  consists  of  the 
usual  stamping  plates,  containing  as  many  punches  as  there  are 
needles  in  the  Jacquard  apparatus,  and  corresponding  to  the 
same  scale.  It  runs  upon  an  iron  track  like  a  railway  car,  and 
its  movements  are  regulated  by  the  machinery  connected  with 
the  keys.  The  improvement  consists  in  the  substitution  of 
mechanical  power  for  manual  labor,  and  by  its  aid  the  patterns 
are  punched  out  with  as  much  rapidity  and  ease  as  if  the  person 
controlling  it  were  performing  a  piece  of  music  on  a  piano-forte. 
The  most  complicated  designs  are  cut  in  less  time  by  it  than  even 
the  "reading  off"  could  be  performed  in  under  the  old  method. 
Another  improvement  has  been  effected  by  the  construction  of 
what  is  called  "the  Duplicate  Machine,"  by  which  a  single 
workman  can  cut  in  a  day  six  thousand  cards  for  a  machine  of 
six  hundred  needles. 

Another  serious  inconvenience  which  the  Company  had  to 
encounter  was  the  difficulty  of  procuring  the  quality  of  silk 
suited  to  the  requirements  of  their  manufacture.  To  guard 
against  its  recurrence  at  a  moment  when  it  might  embarrass 
their  operations,  they  sent  Mr.  Humeston  to  Europe  to  make  a 
selection  of  the  best  qualities  produced  in  France  and  Italy, 
and  to  make  arrangements  for  a  regular  supply  of  them. 
Neither  Chinese  nor  Indian  silk  is  used  in  the  manufacture  of 
brocatelle.  The  Italian  and  French  silks  are  preferred  for  the 
closeness  of  their  fibre,  a  quality  essential  in  stuffs  having  so 
dense  a  surface. 

All  the  silk  used  in  this  establishment  is  prepared  and  dyed 
on  the  premises.  The  mechanical  arrangements  of  the  dyeing 
department  and  the  various  processes  to  which  the  silk  is  sub- 
jected previous  to  its  being  ready  for  the  weaver,  resemble  so 
closely  those  which  we  had  occasion  to  describe  in  our  last 
article,  that  it  is  unnecessary  for  us  to  recapitulate  them  here. 
In  the  dye-house  there  is  a  large  steam-boiler,  which  serves  the 
double  purpose  of  heating  the  buildings  and  supplying  the  hot 
water  used  in  the  vats.  An  abundant  supply  of  excellent 
spring-water  is  obtained  from  a  large  well  sunk  fifteen  feet 
below  the  bed  of  the  river.  It  is  raised  by  a  force-pump  to  a 
cistern,  and  is  thence  conveyed  by  pipes  to  different  parts  oi 


880 


THE  GREAT  EXHIBITION. 


the  premises.    The  qualities  of  the  dyes  have  been  much 

improved  since  this  water  has  been  obtained.  The  river  water 
which  was  formerly  used  was  full  of  impurities,  arising  from 
decayed  vegetable  matter  and  other  refuse  floated  down  from 
the  iron  and  paper  mills  situated  higher  up  on  the  river. 

All  the  fabrics  that  issue  from  this  establishment  are  made 
from  original  designs,  the  Company  studiously  avoiding  copy- 
ing from  foreign  patterns.  They  employ  an  experienced  and 
skillful  artist  in  this  department,  whose  labors  have  contributed 
in  no  small  degree  to  the  success  which  has  attended  the  enter- 
prise. The  mode  in  which  the  designs  are  prepared  is  the 
same  as  that  adopted  for  hand-weaving.  The  artist  first 
sketches  his  conceptions  on  ordinary  drawing-paper,  and  then 
transfers  his  sketch  to  the  design  paper,  w^here  it  is  reduced  to 
a  scale  corresponding  with  the  arrangement  of  the  needles  in 
the  Jacquard  apparatus.  The  sketch  is  then  filled  in  with 
colors  indicating  by  their  position  the  precise  warps  and  shoots 
which  are  requisite  for  the  production  of  the  figure.  The  de- 
sign is  now  complete,  and  is  ready  for  the  operations  of  the 
machine  which  cuts  the  pattern  cards. 

The  improved  looms  used  in  this  establishment  are  princi- 
pally constructed  of  cast-iron.  They  are  surmounted  by  Jac- 
quards  of  twelve  hundred  needles  each,  and  the  combined 
weight  of  each  loom  and  apparatus  is  about  two  tons.  These 
looms  have  movable  shuttle-boxes,  affording  facilities  for  intro- 
ducing four  different  colors  into  the  fabric,  which  boxes  are 
changeable  at  will  by  the  motions  of  the  Jacquard.  One  of  the 
principal  obstacles  to  the  application  of  power-looms  to  the 
weaving  of  figured  goods  lies  in  the  abrupt  and  violent  jerks 
imparted  to  the  delicate  tissues  of  the  warp  by  the  cam  motion. 
This  has  been  surmounted  in  the  improved  loom  which  we  are 
describing  by  such  a  modification  of  the  working  parts  as  pro- 
duces a  gradual  and  progressive  movement,  adapting  itself  to 
the  character  of  the  material.  It  is  the  first  power-loom  which 
has  been  successfully  applied  to  the  execution  of  complicated 
designs.  By  its  means  any  variety  of  figured  weaving  and  any 
number  of  colors  can  be  combined  in  the  same  web.  It  moves 
at  the  rate  of  fifty  picks  a  minute,  and  will  produce  at  the  rate 


SILK  MANUFACTURES. 


881 


of  one  hundred  and  twelve  picks  to  the  inch  of  cloth,  (forty- 
eight  inches  in  width,)  or  about  six  yards  in  a  day  of  eleven 
hours.  The  average  production  of  the  ordinary  Jacquard  hand- 
loom  is  only  about  a  yard  in  the  same  number  of  hours. 

Each  loom  is  worked  by  a  girl,  who  requires  very  little  pre- 
vious experience  to  manage  it  perfectly,  and  to  every  six  looms 
is  attached  a  man  called  a  section  hand.  His  business  is  to  see 
the  warps  properly  kept  up,  breakages  in  the  silk  promptly 
repaired,  and  the  general  machinery  kept  in  good  order.  The 
designer  superintends  the  mounting  of  the  looms  and  the  prepa- 
ration of  the  warps. 

In  order  to  give  our  readers  some  idea  of  the  manner  in 
which  the  operations  of  this  particular  branch  of  manufacture 
are  carried  on,  we  will  select  a  loom  on  which  we  observe  a 
complicated  design  in  progress  of  execution,  requiring  upwards 
of  eight  thousand  pattern  cards  for  its  completion.  The  warp 
is  a  deep  crimson  and  the  weft  a  bright  gold  color.  The  width 
of  the  stuff  is  forty-eight  inches,  and,  to  cover  this  surface,  three 
large  figures,  of  sixteen  inches  in  width  each  and  a  yard  in 
length,  are  intended  to  be  employed.  The  design  is  a  corbeille 
of  flowers,  suspended  by  a  chain  to  a  cluster  of  vine  branches. 
The  figures  are  raised  in  satin  and  broken  twills,  and  the  ground 
is  a  plain  surface  of  gold-colored  brocade  work.  When  the 
loom  is  started  the  first  operation  observed  is  the  upward  mo- 
tion of  the  trap-board  of  the  Jacquard,  which  carries  with  it 
such  portions  of  the  harness  threads  as  correspond  with  the 
perforations  of  the  pattern  card,  which  is  pressed  against  the 
ends  of  the  needles  by  the  sliding  motion  of  the  cylinder, 
thereby  raising  such  of  the  warp  threads  as  are  necessary  to 
the  progressive  development  of  the  design,  to  a  height  sufficient 
to  allow  the  shuttles  in  their  lateral  flight  to  introduce  the  weft 
threads,  which  are  carried  home  to  the  woven  cloth  by  the  for- 
ward motion  of  the  reed.  During  the  flight  of  the  shuttle,  and 
the  vibrating  motion  of  the  reed,  the  Jacquard  carries  over  the 
next  of  the  series  of  cards  to  adjust  the  succeeding  pick  in  the 
composition  of  the  fabric.  These  movements  are  repeated 
sixty  times  in  every  minute,  until  each  of  the  series  of  cards  has 
contributed  its  share  to  the  completion  of  the  design. 


382  THE  GREAT  EXHIBITION. 

We  now  discover  on  one  end  of  the  cloth-roller,  and  con- 
nected with  the  machinery  of  the  loom,  a  small  dial  with  its 
face  accurately  divided  into  figures,  and  a  hand  indicating  at 
every  stage  of  the  process  the  precise  quantity  woven.  Con- 
sulting our  watch,  and  comparing  it  with  the  movements  of  the 
pointer  on  the  dial,  we  find  that  the  loom  has  repeated  the 
operations  just  described,  four  thousand  and  thirty -two  times, 
and  has  made  a  yard  of  cloth  in  sixty-seven  minutes.  During 
this  time,  in  which  the  shuttles  have  travelled  upwards  of  six 
miles,  the  weaver  has  only  to  watch  their  movements,  replacing 
from  time  to  time  the  filling  bobbins  that  get  expended  or 
broken,  and  the  occurrence  of  which  is  indicated  by  the  instan- 
taneous stopping  of  the  loom.  The  stoppage  is  effected  by  an 
ingenious  contrivance  at  each  end  of  the  shuttle  race  which  dis- 
connects the  propelling  force  whenever  the  filling  breaks  or  the 
shuttle  fails  to  clear  the  web  or  reach  its  proper  place  in  the 
box.  There  are  sometimes  four  shuttles  passing  in  succession 
through  the  same  race,  each  giving  out  its  thread  of  weft,  and 
as  soon  as  each  shuttle  has  passed  on,  the  fingers  of  the  "  pro- 
tector," as  it  is  called,  commence  feeling  for  the  thread.  The 
absence  of  the  latter  causes  the  fingers  to  close,  and  by  their 
connection  with  the  skipper  throws  off  the  driving-belt  and 
applies  a  brake,  thereby  instantly  arresting  the  motions  of  the 
loom.  There  is  another  arrangement  by  which  only  one  of  the 
four  threads  of  weft  is  allowed  to  come  in  contact  with  the  fin- 
gers at  the  same  moment,  so  that  the  action  of  the  "  protector" 
is  rendered  certain  by  the  absence  of  any  one  of  them. 

All  the  brocatelles  manufactured  in  this  establishment  are 
made  in  widths  of  forty-eight  inches  ;  the  length  of  each  piece  is 
forty  yards.  The  French  brocatelles  vary  in  width  from 
twenty-one  to  seventy-two  inches  ;  the  German  from  forty-three 
to  sixty-six.  The  French  manufacturers  only  send  goods  of 
the  first  class  to  this  market,  ranging  in  price  from  two  dollars 
and  fifty  cents  to  twenty  dollars  a  yard,  while  the  Germans 
send  an  inferior  description,  varying  from  two  dollars  to  four 
dollars  a  yard.  The  Eagle  Company  have  chosen  an  interme- 
diate style  of  manufacture,  better  suited  to  the  peculiar  charac- 
ter of  our  market ;  their  prices  range  from  three  dollars  to  six 


SILK  MANUFACTURES. 


383 


dollars  a  yard.  Although,  as  we  have  already  stated,  they 
have  only  commenced  the  sale  of  their  fabrics  within  the  last 
twelve  months,  orders  have  poured  in  upon  them  so  fast  that 
the  ten  looms  first  mounted  in  their  factory  have  been  found 
insufficient  to  keep  pace  with  them.  Ten  more  are  in  progress 
of  construction,  and  will  be  mounted  in  the  course  of  a  few 
weeks,  and  they  will  then  be  enabled  to  supply  a  demand  of 
from  one  hundred  and  fifty  to  two  hundred  yards  a  day.  The 
economy  effected  by  this  improved  loom  is  about  fifteen  per 
cent,  and  were  the  American  manufacturer  placed  upon  the 
same  footing  as  the  French  and  English,  as  regards  the  free 
importation  of  the  raw  material- and  dyes,  it  would  be  fully 
double  that  amount. 

The  whole  of  the  machinery  of  the  factory  is  driven  by  water 
powrer.  The  water-wheel  is  twenty-two  feet  in  diameter,  with 
an  issue  of  ninety-six  square  inches  under  a  five-feet  head,  with 
a  fall  of  thirteen  feet,  giving  a  result  of  twenty  horse-power. 
The  wheel  works  in  the  flume,  immediately  under  the  machhie- 
room,  and  is  almost  entirely  surrounded  by  water,  so  that  it  is 
free  from  all  obstructions  arising  from  ice  or  from  back-water 
in  times  of  freshet.  It  is  frequently  run  with  nine  feet  of  back- 
water, giving  off  sufficient  power  to  perform  all  the  operations 
of  the  mill. 

There  are  about  sixty  persons  employed  at  present  in  the 
works,  two -thirds  of  whom  are  females  from  the  age  of  fourteen 
upward.  The  rate  of  wages  paid  by  the  Company  is  higher 
than  that  given  by  the  neighboring  factories,  the  nature  of  the 
work  requiring  a  superior  degree  of  skill  and  intelligence. 
There  is  a  boarding  house  connected  with  the  establishment 
which  accommodates  about  forty  of  the  persons  employed,  the 
remainder  residing  in  the  town  with  their  families.  We  cannot 
conclude  our  description  of  these  works  without  bearing  testi- 
mony to  the  order  and  discipline  which  seem  to  reign  through- 
out every  branch  of  them,  as  well  as  to  the  creditable  efforts 
made  by  the  Company  to  insure  the  physical  comfort  and  ele- 
vate the  moral  condition  of  those  employed  by  them. 

The  rich  brocades  that  formerly  constituted  the  pride  and 
ornament  of  the  stately  dames  who  loved  to  disfigure  their  per- 


884 


THE  GREAT  EXHIBITION. 


sons  with  the  ruff  and  farthingale,  have  now  almost  entirely- 
disappeared  from  use  as  wearing  apparel,  and  it  is  only  in  the 
gorgeous  vestments  of  the  Jewish  and  Roman  Catholic  rites 
that  their  ancient  glories  are  perpetuated.  Limited  as  is  this 
application  of  these  once-popular  fabrics,  it  appears  that  it  is 
still  deemed  of  sufficient  importance  to  induce  attempts  to 
introduce  the  manufacture  of  them  into  this  country,  and  to  ex- 
pend upon  them  an  amount  of  capital  and  energy  that  one 
would  have  supposed  might  have  been  more  profitably  bestowed 
on  some  other  branch  of  industry. 

Most  of  the  heavy  damask,  and  gold  and  silver  brocades, 
used  in  this  country  for  ecclesiastical  purposes,  have  been 
hitherto  imported  from  Lyons,  where  the  manufacture  of  these 
stuffs  has  been  carried  to  the  highest  state  of  perfection,  and 
where  the  demand  from  the  different  Catholic  countries  of 
Europe  is  of  sufficient  consequence  to  keep  a  certain  amount  of 
capital  embarked  in  it. 

Speculating  on  securing  a  portion  of  the  orders  forwarded 
from  this  country  and  South  America,  an  enterprising  German, 
named  Neustaedter,  commenced  the  manufacture  of  these  fab- 
rics in  New  York  about  eighteen  months  since,  and,  notwith- 
standing the  difficulties  attending  the  enterprise,  he  has  suc- 
ceeded in  turning  out  from  his  looms  stuffs  which,  for  richness 
and  beauty  of  design,  will  stand  a  comparison  with  some  of  the 
best  productions  of  the  Lyons  looms.  In  addition  to  the  fab- 
rics used  for  church  purposes,  he  manufactures  furniture  bro- 
cades of  the  most  beautiful  and  costly  patterns,  the  figures  on 
which  are  woven  in  gold  and  silver  thread,  or  the  grounds  com- 
posed entirely  of  these  materials.  It  should  be  stated  that  in 
ancient  times  those  stuffs  only  were  called  brocades  which 
were  woven  both  on  the  warp  and  shoot  with  gold  and  silver 
threads,  or  with  a  mixture  or  combination  of  both  these  mate- 
rials. In  preparing  the  threads  for  weaving  gold  brocade,  a 
flattened  silver  gilt  wire  or  ribbon  was  spun  on  silk  that  had 
been  dyed  to  resemble  as  closely  as  possible  the  color  of  the 
metal,  and  the  principal  excellence  in  the  art  of  preparing  gold 
threads,  consisted  in  so  regulating  the  convolutions  of  the 
metallic  covering  of  the  silk,  as  that  its  edges  should  exactly 


J 

SILK  MANUFACTURES.  385 

touch  and  form  as  it  were  one  continued  covering  without 
either  interval  or  overlapping.  Subsequent  improvements 
were  effected  on  this  process  by  the  Venetians,  by  which, 
although  they  used  only  half  the  quantity  of  gold  and  silver 
employed  in  making  brocade  according  to  the  usual  method, 
they  imparted  to  them  a  far  more  beautiful  appearance.  The 
flattened  wires  were  not  wound  so  close  together  on  the  silk 
threads,  nor  were  there  so  many  of  these  threads  used  in  the 
weaving ;  but  by  passing  the  stuffs  when  manufactured  between 
rollers,  to  which  a  great  amount  of  pressure  was  given,  the  wire 
threads  were  partially  crushed,  so  as  to  cause  the  ornamental  pat- 
tern to  assume  the  appearance  of  an  unbroken  and  brilliant  plate 
of  gold  or  silver.  This  process  having  long  been  kept  a  secret  by 
the  Venetian  manufacturers,  the  jealousy  of  the  French  Govern- 
ment was  excited  by  it,  and  about  the  middle  of  the  last  cen- 
tury they  employed  the  celebrated  Vaucanson  to  contrive 
machinery  by  which  the  same  object  could  be  effected.  His 
efforts  proved  successful,  and  since  that  period  the  Lyons  weav- 
ers have  enjoyed  almost  a  monopoly  of  this  branch  of  the  silk 
manufacture.  In  the  various  modifications  to  which  these 
various  improvements  in  the  materials  gave  rise,  the  character 
of  the  fabric  itself  also  underwent  alteration,  until  at  length 
stuffs  composed  entirely  of  uncovered  silk,  provided  they  were 
adorned  and  worked  with  flowers  or  other  ornamental  figures, 
took  equally  the  name  of  brocades. 

When  we  consider  the  peculiar  difficulties  of  this  branch  of 
the  silk  manufacture,  and  the  lamentable  failures  that  have 
hitherto  been  the  result  of  all  the  efforts  made  to  introduce 
even  the  fabrication  of  plain  broad  silks  in  this  country,  we 
cannot  sufficiently  admire  the  courage  and  enterprise  of  this 
spirited  foreigner,  in  applying  himself  at  once  to  the  most  dif- 
ficult descriptions  of  weaving.  It  is  gratifying  to  learn  that,  so 
far,  he  has  had  no  reason  to  repent  the  step  he  has  taken,  his 
goods  finding  a  ready  sale  in  the  market,  owing  to  the  excel- 
lence of  their  quality  and  their  moderateness  of  price,  as  com- 
pared with  the  French  brocades. 

The  looms  used  by  Mr.  Neustaedter  are  constructed  on  the 
ordinary  Jacquard  principle,  the  peculiar  character  of  the  fab- 

17 


i 


880  THE  GREAT  EXHIBITION. 

rics  which  he  manufactures  preventing  the  application  of 
mechanical  power  to  them.  In  the  figured  damasks  made  by 
the  power-loom  of  the  Eagle  Company,  we  are  told  that  it  is 
possible  to  interweave  a  simple  pattern  of  gold  and  silver 
thread,  but  the  more  complicated  and  showy  effects  of  brocade 
cannot  as  yet  be  produced  by  them.  The  operations  of  this 
manufacture  are  extremely  curious  and  interesting,  and  will 
well  repay  a  visit  to  Mr.  Neustaedter's  establishment,  in  Dey- 
street. 

The  specimens  of  silk  fabrics  exhibited  by  the  Newport  Silk 
Factory,  of  Kentucky,  consist  principally  of  handkerchiefs  of 
the  description  known  as  Foulard.  They  have  double  claims 
to  public  attention,  from  the  fact  that  they  are  not  only  of 
home  manufacture,  but  are  also  made  of  American  silk.  We 
can  desire  no  better  answer  than  these  fabrics  afford  to  the 
assertion  that  our  climate  is  unsuited  to  the  culture  of  the  silk- 
worm. The  establishment  by  which  they  have  been  manufac- 
tured has  had  to  struggle  through  great  difficulties,  arising  from 
a  limited  capital  and  want  of  encouragement,  but  we  are  glad 
to  hear  that  it  is  now  gradually  extending  its  operations. 


< 


J.  S.  REDFIELD, 

110  AND  112  NASSAU  STREET,  NEW  YORK, 


HAS  JUST  PUBLISHED: 


EPISODES  OF  INSECT  LIFE. 


By  Acheta  Domestica.  In  Three  Series  :  I.  Insects  of  Spring.— 
II.  Insects  of  Summer. —  III.  Insects  of  Autumn.  Beautifully 
illustrated.  Crown  8vo.,  cloth,  gilt,  price  $2.00  each.  The  same 
beautifully  colored  after  nature,  extra  gilt,  $4.00  each. 

"  A  book  elegant  enough  for  the  centre  table,  witty  enough  for  after  dinner,  and  wise 
enough  for  the  study  and  the  school-room.  One  of  the  beautiful  lessons  of  this  work  is 
the  kindly  view  it  takes  of  nature.  Nothing  is  made  in  vain  not  only,  but  nothing  is 
made  ugly  or  repulsive.  A  charm  is  thrown  around  every  object,  and  life  suffused 
through  all.  suggestive  of  the  Creator's  goodness  and  wisdom." — TV.  Y.  Evangelist. 

"  Moths,  glow-worms,  lady-birds,  May-flies,  bees,  and  a  variety  of  other  inhabitant*  of 
the  insect  world,  are  descanted  upon  in  a  pleasing  style,  combining  scientific  information 
with  romance,  in  a  manner  peculiarly  attractive." — Commercial  Advertiser. 

"  The  book  includes  solid  instruction  as  well  as  genial  and  captivating  mirth.  The 
scientific  knowledge  of  the  writer  is  thoroughly  reliable."— Examiner 


MEN  AND  WOMEN  OF  THE  EIGHTEENTH  CENTURY. 

By  Arsene  Houssate,  with  beautifully  Engraved  Portraits  of 
Louis  XV.,  and  Madame  de  Pompadour.  Two  volume  12mo. 
450  pages  each,  extra  superfine  paper,  price  $2.50. 

Contents.— Dufresny,  Fontenelle,  Marivaux,  Piron,  The  Abbe  Prevost,  Gentil-Bernard, 
Florian,  Bouffiers,  Diderot,  Gretry,  Riverol,  Louis  XV.,  Greuze,  Boucher,  The  Van- 
loos,  Lantara,  Watteau,  La  Motte,  Dehle,  Abbe  Trublet,  Buffon,  Dorat,  Cardinal  de 
Bernis,  Crebillon  the  Gay,  Marie  Antoinette,  Made,  de  Pompadour,  Vade,  Mile.  Ca- 
margo,  Mile.  Clairon,  Mad.  de  la  Popeliniere,  Sophie  Arnould,  Crebillon  the  Tragic, 
Mile.  Guimard,  Three  Pages  in  the  Life  of  Dancourt,  A  Promenade  in  the  Palais-Royal, 
the  Chevalier  de  la  Clos. 

"A  more  fascinating  book  than  this  rarely  issues  from  the  teeming  press.  Fascina- 
ting in  its  subject ;  fascinating  in  its  style :  fascinating  in  its  power  to  lead  the  reader  into 
castle-building  of  the  most  gorgeous  and  bewitching  description." — Courier  6f  Enquirer. 

"This  is  a  most  welcome  book,  full  of  information  and  amusement,  in  the  form  of 
memoirs,  comments,  and  anecdotes.  It  has  the  style  of  light  literature,  with  the  use. 
fulness  3f  the  gravest.  It  should  be  in  every  library,  and  the  hands  of  overy  reader." 
Bonton  Commonwealth. 

"  A  Book  of  Books.— Two  deliciously  spicy  volumes,  that  are  a  perfect  bonnt  b+ucht 
fcr  *n  epicure  in  reading/' — Home  Journal. 


redfield's  new  and  popular  publications. 


PHILOSOPHERS  AND  ACTRESSES 


By  Arsene  Houssaye.    With  beautifully-engraved  Portraits  ol 
Voltaire  and  Mad.  Parabere.    Two  vols.,  12mo,  price  $2.50. 

"  We  have  here  the  most  charming  book  we  have  read  these  many  days,— so 
powerful  in  its  fascination  that  we  have  been  held  for  hours  from  our  imperious  labor*, 
or  needful  slumbers,  by  the  entrancing  influence  of  its  pages.  One  of  the  most  desim 
ble  fruits  of  the  prolific  field  of  literature  of  the  present  season." — Portland  Eclectic. 

"  Two  brilliant  and  fascinating — we  had  almost  said,  bewitching— volumes,  combi- 
ning information  and  amusement,  the  lightest  gossip,  with  solid  and  serviceable  wia 
dom." — Yankee  Blade. 

"  It  is  a  most  admirable  book,  full  of  originality,  wit,  information  and  philosophy 
Indeed,  the  vividness  of  the  book  is  extraordinary.  The  scenes  and  d^criptiona  arc 
absolutely  life-like." — Southern  Literary  Gazette. 

*•  The  works  of  the  present  writer  are  the  only  ones  the  spirit  of  whose  rhetoric  does 
justice  to  those  times,  and  in  fascination  of  description  and  style  equal  the  fascinations 
they  descant  upon." — New  Orleans  Commercial  Bulletin. 

u  The  author  is  a  brilliant  writer,  and  serves  up  his  sketches  in  a  sparkling  manner." 
Christian  Freeman. 


ANCIENT  EGYPT  UNDER  THE  PHARAOHS, 
By  John  Kendrick,  M.  A.    In  2  vols.,  12mo,  price  $2.50. 


"No  work  has  heretofore  appeared  suited  to  the  wants  of  the  historical  student, 
which  combined  the  labors  of  artists,  travellers,  interpreters  and  critics,  during  the 
periods  from  the  earliest  records  of  the  monarchy  to  its  final  absorption  in  the  empire 
of  Alexander.    This  work  supplies  this  deficiency."—  Olive  Branch. 

"  Not  only  the  geography  and  political  history  of  Egypt  under  the  Pharaohs  are 
given,  but  we  are  furnished  with  a  minute  account  of  the  domestic  manners  and  cus- 
toms of  the  inhabitants,  their  language,  laws,  science,  religion,  agriculture,  navigation 
and  commerce." — Commercial  Advertiser. 

"  These  volumes  present  a  comprehensive  view  of  the  results  of  the  combined  labors 
of  travellers,  artists,  and  scientific  explorers,  which  have  effected  so  much  during  the 
present  century  toward  the  development  of  Egyptian  archasology  and  history."— Jour- 
nal  of  Commerce.  * 

44  The  descriptions  are  very  vivid  and  one  wanders,  delighted  with  the  author,  through 
the  land  of  Egypt,  gathering  at  every  step,  new  phases  of  her  wondrous  history,  and 
ends  with  a  more  intelligent  knowledge  than  he  ever  before  had,  of  the  land  of  the 
Pharaohs." — American  Spectator. 


COMPARATIVE  PHYSIOGNOMY; 

Or  Resemblances  between  Men  and  Animals.  By  J.  W.  Redfield, 
M.  D.  In  one  vol.,  8vo,  with  several  hundred  illustrations, 
price,  $2.00. 

4k  Dr.  Redfield  has  produced  a  very  curious,  amusing,  and  instructive  book,  curious 
in  its  originality  and  illustrations,  amusing  in  the  comparisons  and  analyses,  and  in. 
structive  because  it  contains  very  much  useful  information  on  a  too  much  neglected 
subject.    It  will  be  eagerly  read  and  quic  kly  appreciated." — National  JEgis. 

"The  whole  work  exhibits  a  good  deal  of  scientific  research,  intelligent  observation, 
end  ingenuity."—  Daily  Union.  t 

44  Highly  entertaining  even  to  those  who  have  little  time  to  study  the  science.  — 
Detroit  Daily  Advertiser. 

4*  This  is  a  remarkable  volume  and  will  be  read  by  two  classes,  those  who  study  for 
information,  and  those  who  read  lor  amusement.  For  its  originality  and  entertaining 
character,  we  commend  it  to  our  readers."— A Ibany  Express. 

"  It  is  overflowing  with  wit,  humor,  and  originality,  and  profusely  illustrated.  The 
vhoie  work  is  distinguished  by  vast  research  and  knowledge." — Knickerbocker. 

4  The  plan  is  a  novel  one  ;  the  proofs  striking,  and  must  challenge  the  attention  of  ta« 
curious."- -Daily  Advertiser 


redfield's  xi:w  and  popular  publications. 


MOORE'S  LIFE  OF  SHERIDAN. 

Memoirs  of  the  Life  of  the  Rt.  Hon.  Richard  Brinsley  Sheridan, 
by  Thomas  Moore,  with  Portrait  after  Sir  Joshua  Reynolds. 
Two  vols.,  12mo,  cloth,  $2.00. 

"One  of  the  most  brilliant  biographies  in  English  literature.  It  is  the  life  of  a  wit 
written  by  a  wit,  and  few  of  Tom  Moore's  most  sparkling  poems  are  more  brilliant  and 
fascinating  than  this  biography." — Boston  Transcript. 

"  This  is  at  once  a  most  valuable  biography  of  the  most  celebrated  wit  of  the  times, 
and  one  of  the  most  entertaining  works  of  its  gifted  author." — Springfield  Republican. 

"  The  Life  of  Shpridan,  the  wit,  contains  as  much  food  for  serious  thought  as  the 
best  sermon  that  was  ever  penned." — Arthur's  Home  Gazette. 

"  The  sketch  of  such  a  character  and  career  as  Sheridan's  by  such  a  hand  as  Moore'B, 
can  never  cease  to  be  attractive." — JV.  Y.  Courier  and  Enquirer. 

"  The  work  is  instructive  and  full  of  interest." — Christian  Intelligencer. 

"  It  is  a  gem  of  biography  ;  full  of  incident,  elegantly  written,  warmly  appreciative, 
and  on  the  whole  candid  and  just.  Sheridan  was  a  rare  and  wonderful  genius,  and  has 
in  this  work  justice  done  to  his  surpassing  merits."—  JV.  Y.  Evangelist. 


BARRING  TON'S  SKETCHES. 
Personal  Sketches  of  his  own  Time,  by  Sir  Jonah  Barri]xgton, 
Judge  of  the  High  Court  of  Admiralty  in  Ireland,  with  Illustra- 
tions by  Darley.    Third  Edition,  12mo,  cloth,  $1  25. 

"  A  more  entertaining  book  than  this  is  not  often  thrown  in  our  way.  His  sketches 
of  character  are  inimitable  ;  and  many  of  the  prominent  men  of  his  time  are  hit  off  in 
the  most  striking  and  graceful  outline." — Albany  Argus. 

"He  was  a  very  shrewd  observer  and  eccentric  writer,  and  his  narrative  of  his  own 
life,  and  sketches  of  society  in  Ireland  during  his  times,  are  exceedingly  humorous  and 
interesting." — JV.  Y.  Commercial  Advertiser. 

11  It  is  one  of  those  works  which  are  conceived  and  written  in  so  hearty  a  view,  and 
brings  before  the  reader  so  many  palpable  and  amusing  characters,  that  the  entertain 
ment  and  information  are  equally  balanced."—  Boston  Transcript. 

"This  is  one  of  the  most  entertaining  books  of  the  season." — JV.  Y.  Recorder. 

"  It  portrays  in  life-like  colors  the  characters  and  daily  habits  of  nearly  all  the  Eng- 
lish and  Irish  celebrities  of  that  period."—  JV.  Y.  Courier  and  Enquirer 

1 

JOMINFS  CAMPAIGN  OF  WATERLOO. 
The  Political  and  Military  History  of  the  Campaign  of  Waterloo, 
from  the  French  of  Gen.  Baron  Jomini,  by  Lieut.  S.  V.  Benet, 
U.  S.  Ordnance,  with  a  Map,  12mo,  cloth,  75  cents. 

41  Of  great  value,  both  for  its  historical  merit  and  its  acknowledged  impartiality."— 
Christian  Freeman,  Bosto?i. 

"  It  has  long  been  regarded  in  Europe  as  a  work  of  more  than  ordinary  merit,  while 
to  military  men  his  review  of  the  tactics  and  manoeuvres  of  the  French  Emperor  dur- 
ing the  few  days  which  preceded  his  final  and  most  disastrous  defeat,  is  considered  as 
instructive,  as  it  is  interesting."—  Arthur's  Home  Gazette. 

"It  is  a  standard  authority  and  illustrates  a  subject  of  permanent  interest.  With 
military  students,  and  historical  inquirers,  it  will  be  a  favorite  reference,  and  for  the 
general  reader  it  possesses  great  value  and  interest."—  Boston  Transcript. 

"  It  throws  much  light  on  often  mooted  points  respecting  Napoleon's  military  and 
pohtical  genius.    The  translation  is  one  of  much  vigor."— Boston  Commonwealth. 

'•It  supplies  an  important  chapter  in  the  most  interesting  and  eventful  period  of  Na 
poleon's  military  career." — Savannah  Daily  News. 

"It  is  ably  written  and  skilfully  translated."—  Yankee  Blade. 


redfield's  new  and  popular  publications. 


NOTES  AND  EMENDATIONS  OF  SHAKESPEARE. 

Notes  and  Emendations  to  the  Text  of  Shakespeare's  Plays,  from 
the  Early  Manuscript  Corrections  in  a  copy  of  the  folio  of  1 332, 
in  the  possession  of  John  Payne  Collier,  Esq.,  F.S.A.  Third 
edition,  with  a  fac-simile  of  the  Manuscript  Corrections.  1  vol 
12mo,  cloth,  $1  50. 

"  It  is  not  for  a  moment  to  be  doubted,  we  think,  that  in  this  volume  a  contribution 
has  been  made  to  the  clearness  and  accuracy  of  Shakespeare's  text,  by  far  the  most  im 
portant  of  any  offered  or  attempted  since  Shakespeare  lived  and  wrote." — Lond.  Exam 

"  The  corrections  which  Mr.  Collier  has  here  given  to  the  world  are,  we  venture  to 
think,  of  more  value  than  the  labors  of  nearly  all  the  critics  on  Shakespeare's  text  put 
together." — London  Literary  Gazette. 

"  It  is  a  rare  gem  in  the  history  of  literature,  and  can  not  fail  to  command  the  atten- 
tion of  all  the  amateurs  of  the  writings  of  the  immortal  dramatic  poet."—  Ch'ston  Cour. 

"  It  is  a  book  absolutely  indispensable  to  every  admirer  of  Shakespeare  who  wishes 
to  read  him  understandingly." — Louisville  Courier. 

"  It  is  clear  from  internal  evidence,  that  for  the  most  part  they  are  genuine  restora- 
tions of  the  original  plays.    They  carry  conviction  with  them." — Home  Journal. 

"  This  volume  is  an  almost  indispensable  companion  to  any  of  the  editions  of 
Shakespeare,  so  numerous  and  often  important  are  many  of  the  corrections."—  Register, 
Philadelphia. 


THE  HISTORY  OF  THE  CRUSADES. 
By  Joseph  Francois  Michaud.    Translated  by  W.  Robson,  3  vols. 
12mo.,  maps,  $3  75. 


"It  is  comprehensive  and  accurate  in  the  detail  of  facts,  methodical  and  lucid  in  ar- 
rangement, with  a  lively  and  flowing  narrative." — Journal  of  Commerce. 

"  We  need  not  say  that  the  work  of  Michaud  has  superseded  all  other  histories 
of  the  Crusades.  This  history  has  long  been  the  standard  work  with  all  who  could 
read  it  in  its  original  language.  Another  work  on  the  same  subject  is  as  improbable 
as  a  new  history  of  the  'Decline  and  Fall  of  the  Roman  Empire.'  "Salem  Freeman. 

"  The  most  faithful  and  masterly  history  ever  written  of  the  wild  wars  for  the  Holy 
Land." — Philadelphia  American  Courier. 

"The  ability,  diligence,  and  faithfulness,  with  which  Michaud  has  executed  hie 
great  task,  are  undisputed  ;  and  it  is  to  his  well-fille-d  volumes  that  the  historical  stu- 
dent must  now  resort  for  copious  and  authentic  facts,  and  luminous  views  respecting 
this  most  romantic  and  wonderful  period  in  the  annals  of  the  Old  World."— Boston 
Daily  Courier. 


An  Historical  Romance  of  1651,  by  Hei*ry  W.  Herbert,  author 
of  the  "  Cavaliers  of  England,"  &c,  &c.  Fourteenth  Edition. 
Revised  and  Corrected. 

"  This  is  one  of  the  best  works  of  the  kind  we  have  ever  read— full  of  thrilling  inci- 
dents and  adventures  in  the  stirring  times  of  Cromwell,  and  in  that  style  which  has 
mad-*  the  works  of  Mr.  Herbert  so  popular."—  Christian  Freeman,  Boston. 

"The  work  is  distinguished  by  the  same  historical  knowledge,  thrilling  incident,  and 
pictorial  benuty  of'style,  which  have  characterized  all  Mr.  Herbert's  fictions  and  imparted 
to  them  such  a  bewitching  interest" — Yankee  Blade. 

"  The  author  out  of  a  simple  plot  and  very  few  characters,  has  constructed  a  novel 
of  deep  interest  and  o*  considerable  historical  valua.  It  will  be  found  well  wortk 
reading  "—National  **gl%  Worcester. 


MARMADUKE  WYVIL. 


redfield's  new  and  popular  publications. 


Life  under  an  Italian  Despotism  ! 


LORENZO  BENONI, 

OR 

PASSAGES  IN  THE  LIFE  OF  AN  ITALIAN 


One  Vol.,  12mo,  Cloth— Price  $1.00'. 


OPINIONS  OF  THE  PRESS. 


The  author  of  '  Lorenzo  Benoni'  is  Giovanni  Ruffini,  a  native  of  Genoa,  who  effected 
his  escape  from  his  native  country  after  the  attempt  at  revolution  in  1833.  His  book  is, 
in  substance,  an  authentic  account  of  real  persons  and  incidents,  though  the  writer  has 
chosen  to  adopt  fictitious  and  fantastic  designations  for  himself  and  his  associates.  Since 
1833,  Ruffini  has  resided  chiefly  (if  not  wholly)  in  England  and  France,  where  his  quali- 
ties, we  understand,  have  secured  him  respect  and  regard.  In  1848,  he  was  selected  by 
Charles  Albert  to  fill  the  responsible  situation  of  embassador  to  Paris,  in  which  city  he 
had  long  been  domesticated  as  a  refugee.  He  ere  long,  however,  relinquished  that  office, 
and  again  withdrew  into  private  life.  He  appears  to  have  employed  the  time  of  his  exile 
in  this  country  to  such  advantage  as  to  have  acquired  a  most  uncommon  mastery  over 
the  English  language.  The  present  volume  (we  are  informed  on  good  authority)  is  ex- 
clusively his  own — and,  if  so,  on  the  score  of  style  alone  it  is  a  remarkable  curiosity. 
But  its  matter  also  is  curious." — London  Quarterly  Review  for  July. 

"  A  tale  of  sorrow  that  has  lain  long  in  a  rich  mind,  like  a  ruin  in  a  fertile  country,  and 
is  not  the  less  gravely  impressive  for  the  grace  and  beauty  of  its  coverings  ...  at  the 
same  time  the  most  determined  novel-reader  could  desire  no  work  more  fascinating  over 
which  to  forget  the  flight  of  time.  ...  No  sketch  of  foreign  oppression  has  ever,  we  be- 
lieve, been  submitted  to  the  English  public  by  a  foreigner,  equal  or  nearly  equal  to  this 
volume  in  literary  merit.  It  is  not  unworthy  to  be  ranked  among  contemporary  works 
whose  season  is  the  century  in  which  their  authors  live." — London  Examiner. 

"The  book  should  be  as  extensively  read  as  'Uncle  Tom's  Cabin,' inasmuch  as  it 
develops  the  existence  of  a  state  of  slavery  and  degradation,  worse  even  than  that  which 
Mrs.  Beecher  Stowe  has  elucidated  with  so  much  pathos  and  feeling." — Bells  Weekly 
Messenger. 

11  Few  works  of  the  season  will  be  read  with  greater  pleasure  than  this  ;  there  is  a 
great  charm  in  the  quiet,  natural  way  in  which  the  story  is  told." — London  Atlas. 

"The  author's  grpat  forte  is  character-painting.  This  portraiture  is  accomplished 
with  remarkable  skill,  the  traits  both  individual  and  national  being  marked  with  great 
nicety  without  obtrusivoness." — London  Spectator. 

"  Under  the  modest  guise  of  the  biography  of  an  imaginary  1  Lorenzo  Benoni,'  we  have 
here,  in  fact,  the  memoir  of  a  man  whose  name  could  not  be  pronounced  in  certain  parts 
of  northern  Italy  without  calling  up  tragic  yet  noble  historical  recollections.  ...  Its 
merits,  simply  as  a  work  of  literary  art,  are  of  a  very  high  order.  The  style  is  really 
beautiful— easy,  sprightly,  graceful,  and  full  of  the  happiest  and  most  ingenious  turns  of 
phrase  and  fancy." — North  British  Review. 

li  This  has  been  not  unjustly  compared  to  '  Gil  Bias,'  to  which  it  is  scarcely  inferior  in 
spirited  delineations  of  human  character,  and  in  the  variety  of  events  which  it  relates. 
But  as  a  description  of  actual  occurrences  illustrating  the  domestic  and  political  condi- 
tion of  Italy,  at  a  period  fraught  with  interest  to  all  classes  of  readers,  it  far  transcends 
In  importance  any  work  of  mere  fiction."— Dublin  Evening  Mail. 


> 


redfield's  new  and  popular  publications. 


"  SHAKESPEARE  AS  HE  WROTE  IT." 

THE  WORKS  OF  SHAKESPEARE, 

Reprinted  from  the  newly-discovered  copy  of  the  Folio  of  1632 
in  the  possession  of  J.  Payne  Collier,  containing  nearly 

Twenty  Thousand  Manuscript  Corrections, 

With  a  History  of  the  Stage  to  the  Time,  an  Introduction  to 
each  Play,  a  Life  of  the  Poet,  etc. 

By  J.  PAYNE  COLLIER,  F.S.A. 

To  which  are  added,  Glossarial  and  other  Notes,  the  Readings  of  Formet 
Editions,  a  Portrait  after  that  by  Martin  Droeshout,  a  Vignette  Tttl"-* 
on  Steel,  and  a  Facsimile  of  the  Old  Folio,  with  the  Manuscript  Cor* 
rections.    1  vol,  Imperial  8vo.   Cloth  $4  00. 

The  WORKS  OF  SHAKESPEARE  the  same  as  the  above. 

Uniform  in  Size  with  the  celebrated  Chiswick  Edition,  8  vols. 
l8mo,  cloth  $6  00.    Half  calf  or  moroc.  extra 

These  are  American  Copyright  Editions,  the  Notes  being  expressly  prepared 
for  the  work.  The  English  edition  contains  simply  the  text,  without  a  single 
note  or  indication  of  the  changes  made  in  the  text.  In  the  present,  the  vari- 
ations from  old  copies  are  noted  by  reference  of  all  changes  to  former  editions 
(abbreviated  f.  e.),  and  every  indication  and  explanation  is  given  essential  to  a 
clear  understanding  of  the  author.  The  prefatory  matter,  Life,  &c,  will  be  fuller 
than  in  any  American  edition  now  published. 

"This  is  the  only  correct  edition  of  the  works  of  the  'Bard  of  Avon'  ever  issued, 
and  no  lover  or  student  of  Shakespeare  should  be  without  it." — Philadelphia  Argus. 

"  Altogether  the  most  correct  and  therefore  the  most  valuable  edition  extant." — Alba- 
ny Express. 

*«  This  edition  of  Shakespeare  will  ultimately  supersede  all  others.  It  must  certainly 
be  deemed  an  essential  acquisition  by  every  lover  of  the  great  dramatist."— N.  Y.  Com- 
mercial Advertiser. 

"This  great  work  commends  itself  in  the  highest  terms  to  every  Shakespearian  schol- 
ar and  student." — Philadelphia  City  Item. 

"  This  edition  embraces  all  that  is  necessary  to  make  a  copy  of  Shakespeare  desirable 
and  correct." — Niagara  Democrat. 

"  It  must  sooner  or  later  drive  all  others  from  the  market." — N.  Y.  Evening  Post. 

"  Beyond  all  question,  the  very  best  edition  of  the  great  bard  hitherto  published."-— 
New  England  Religious  Herald. 

44  Tt  must  hereafter  be  the  standard  edition  of  Shakespeare's  plays." — National  Argiis. 

"  It  is  clear  from  internal  evidence  that  they  are  genuine  restorations  of  the  origi 
nal  plays." — Detroit  Daily  Times. 

"This  must  we  think  supersede  all  other  editions  of  Shakespeare  hitherto  published. 
Collier's  corrections  make  it  really  a  different  work  from  its  predecessors.  Compared 
with  it  we  consider  them  hardly  worth  possessing." — Daily  Georgian,  Savannah. 

"  One  who  will  probably  hereafter  be  considered  as  the  only  true  authority.  No  one 
we  think,  will  wish  to  purchase  an  edition  of  Shakespeare,  except  it  shall  be  conform- 
able to  the  amended  text  by  Collier." — Newark  Daily  Advertiser. 

"A  great  outcry  has  been  made  in  England  against  this  edition  of  the  bard,  by  Sin- 
ger and  others  interested  in  other  editions  ;  but  the  emendations  commend  themtelvei 
too  strongly  to  the  good  sense  of  every  reader  to  be  dropped  by  the  public — the  old 
editions  mu9t  become  obsolete." — Yankee  Blade,  Boston, 


I 

■ 


1 


r 


Q  /   A  LJ  f 


^v-zo^t^  "  Wis 


1  /£r<x 


^0|OLD  CURIOUS  as? 
ISJaP  STANDARD  BOOKS 


GETTY  RESEARCH  INSTITUTE  " 


3  3125  01033  1649 


